Be a Doll
by Sacagawea
Summary: Something terrible happens to Draco and courtesy of the Head Code he is put under Hermione's care! Will they be triumphant? Will Hermione throw him off the North Tower? Read and Review. Written PreHBP.
1. Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Sorry about stating the obvious  
  
(A/N):Hello people! This is my firstest ever fic, so be nice when reviewing. Then again, if it REALLY sucks, please tell me. I promise I won't hurt you. Much. Ha,ha. Just kidding.  
  
By the way, I really don't care that at Hogwarts there are no such thing as Head Dorms.  
  
This is my story. Well, my plot anyway.  
  
But here you go...  
  
Be a Doll  
Chapter 1:Reunion  
  
"Bye Mum, Dad!" Hermione yelled, running to the train, "I'll write!  
  
She waved goodbye to her parents, who were setting her off to her last year as Hogwarts.  
  
Right when she set foot onto the Hogwarts Express, it started to slowly jerk out of the station. "Whew" she thought, relived, "Just on time."  
  
Hermione knew that she should go to the Head's Car, but wanted to find her friends first. She hadn't seen them since July and missed them terribly.  
  
After making her way to the back of the train, she found a car with Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna inside. She had barely opened the door when Ginny and Luna were squeezing her to death.  
  
"Congratulations on making Head Girl Mione!" Ginny gushed, grinning. "I knew it would be you!"  
  
Hermione cringed at the horrid nickname, but returned the hug. "Thanks Gin. But how'd you know it was me?" she asked, confused.  
  
Harry laughed. "Please Hermione. How could it be anyone but you? We've known you'd be Head Girl since First Year!" Ron and Neville both nodded vigorously and Luna gave her a friendly pat on the back.  
  
"Yes Hermione." Luna spoke, in her ever-dreamy-sounding-voice. "If it wasn't you, who?" she then laughed at her own rhyme.  
  
Hermione smiled up at all her friends (yes up, she was only 5' 3") and gave a happy laugh. Sure, in a strange way it was a disappointment that it wasn't a surprise, but oh well. At least now she was back with her friends.  
  
But then something Ginny said made her a little less giddy. "So who's Head Boy?"  
  
In all her excitement, she never even stopped to consider this. Who was Head Boy?  
  
"Well if Ron's here, that means that it's either Ernie, that Ravenclaw boy, or..." her voice faded , "Malfoy." she said, spitting out the name.  
The compartment grew silent.  
  
"Well," Neville said, looking at her, "I guess you should go and find out."  
  
With a strained "Goodbye." Hermione left the car, half wanting to run and see who it was, half wanting to shrink back into the compartment and hide.  
  
"Hermione Granger, you will not do such a thing." she told herself, in her best McGonagal voice. "You must be brave."  
  
She trudged to the front of the train to a car whose door read in gold letters, "Head Car". Hermione could see the silhouette of an extremely tall boy leaning against the frame. This gave her a bit of confidence. She knew for a fact Malfoy wasn't much taller than her. It couldn't be him.  
  
Right?  
  
Slowly, she reached for the handle...  
  
A/N: Yay! A cliffy! Well, not really, since you all know who it's going to be.Not that I care. Sorry about the chapter shortness. Longer one next time.  
  
BTW, I'm NOT updating till I get at least 5 reviews on this chapter. So, please, do so! Sacagawea 


	2. Isn't He Just Precious?

A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Didn't you miss me?  
  
First off, I would like to that my reviewers, kay345, Juno's Mome Rath, XstarXSailorX, gurls4ever and Speara. You will be forever remembered.  
  
This chapter is about ten million times more interesting then the last. So enjoy!  
  
Be a Doll  
  
Chapter 2: Isn't He Just Precious?  
  
Draco was bored. Where was that good-for-nothing Mudblood anyway? He wanted this to be as For him, anyway. He was planning to annoy the hell out of Granger. Hey, even he had to admit it; her mind was fun to mess with. That, and she was the only person he could have an intelligent conversation with. His friends were as smart as they looked. Which is not at all.  
  
What does one do to torture a girl? Of course, he already knew, having been succeeding for the past 6 years. Draco knew that if he were to do anything bad enough she would probably hex him into the next century. But he never pushed it that far. Not yet anyway.  
  
He leaned against the doorframe, which was oddly comfortable. He hadn't realized how tried he was. But staying up half the night packing will do that to you. Draco closed his eyes for a moment and didn't even hear the door's handle turn. Nor did he see Hermione attempting to open it.  
  
Which is why he was completely unprepared for what happened next.  
  
Hermione didn't understand. Why couldn't she get the door opened? She pushed and pulled every which way, but still the door wouldn't budge. She realized that she probably looked really stupid, but really didn't care at the moment. Right now, what Hermione wanted to do was get the freakin' door open. Was really that too much to ask?  
  
Finally, she leaned all of her weight on the door (which really wasn't very much) and pushed in with all her might.  
  
The door went flying as it came open, slamming hard on a certain someone. Hermione heard muffled cursing and screaming coming from behind the door. Though she was scared to do so, Hermione closed it a little and took a peek.  
  
"GRANGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she heard something growl angrily. The last thing she saw was a flash of white-blonde hair before she found herself being chased around the compartment. The thing was gaining on her and Hermione was running out of breath. She was just about to make a run for it at the door before it got her and had her pinned to the floor.  
  
Breathing heavily, Hermione looked up to what she thought would be her doom  
  
But it was worse. It was an angry and bewildered looking Draco Malfoy with a tear in his robes and his hair all over the place. Whoops.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" he roared in her face "I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
She managed to slink out of his grasp to the far side of the compartment. He let her go, but still scowled at her, waiting for answer. She wanted to cower from his glare, but refused to show fear in front of Malfoy. Hermione just stood there for a second, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood.  
  
"WELL?" he said nastily, drawing closer. He was really pissed off in the first place about her being Head Girl, and then she had to go and maul him with a door. Draco was on the edge. He wanted an answer out of the stupid girl NOW.  
  
"I'm really sorry.... uh...Draco. I d-didn't know you w-were there." she spoke, trembling. "I thought the door was just...stuck." Hermione admitted, pressing herself against the wall. She was in for it now.  
  
And for some strange reason, his face cracked and a smile was visible. It wasn't a smirk. A real smile. The boy broke out into mad giggles, which turned into loud laughter. She just watched him in amazement, not really sure of what had just happened. Hermione suddenly smiled too, and joined the Head Boy in laughter.  
  
Neither knew what was weirder. That they were laughing together, or that they weren't trying to kill each other for once. Or that she called him Draco. But whichever it was, they didn't seem to care at the moment. The two were laughing like crazy now, and had fallen on the floor with stitches in their sides.  
  
They went on like this for the next ten minutes or so, until finally both calmed down. Hermione helped him up and they took their seats on either side of the compartment, limping a bit.  
  
Both took out something to read and for the rest of the ride the only sound heard was of other students talking. Oddly, nobody else on the train heard the huge argument, though it had been extremely loud. But, it was all the better that way. Hopefully they could just keep it between the two of them.  
  
Just before the train came to a stop, Hermione spoke. "Draco." she commented, deciding to use his first name, "What exactly were we laughing about? I don't really remember."  
  
He simply looked down at her, a strange expression on his face "I don't know. Does it really matter?"  
  
The train stopped then, and packing up their books, the two parted.  
  
"See you later, Mudblood."  
  
"Same here, Ferret."  
  
Possibly the year wouldn't be as bad as they expected.  
  
A/N: You like? Thought it was kind of nice. You know. Them being civil-ish.  
  
Anywho, tell me what you think in your reviews people, because I'm holding Chapter 3 hostage as well. This time it will be only 3 reviews. Having 5 people review was way too much  
  
Sacagawea 


	3. Head Stuff

A/N: REVIEWS! I love you people. Gets teary eyed I'd like to thank the academy, and my parents for...uh, being my parents and my lovely little reviewers, Juno's Mome Rath, kay345 (who, by the way, have reviewed both chappies), and Exploded Toilet Bowl (cool name, BTW) But I'll get on with it now. Here is CHAPTER 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Be a Doll  
Chapter 3: Head Stuff  
  
Hermione climbed into a carriage with Ginny and Luna, almost tripping on a step when she saw the thestral at the front. She hadn't expected to see them, though in the back of her mind she knew that would. This was the first year they were visible to her. Hermione wouldn't have ever imagined that they looked like that.  
  
Ginny sensed her shock and leaned over to pat her hand. "I forgot too." Luna, who was already used to the thestrals, paid them no mind. She was reading the Quibbler (upside down of course) and stabbing her wand in various places across the page while muttering something about overactive snorkacks.  
  
The ride seemed to take forever. Hermione and Ginny sat in an awkward silence until the castle was in view. With a small wave to her friends, Hermione jumped out of the carriage and made her way to McGonagal's office. She had been instructed in her Hogwarts letter to report there upon arriving.  
  
Hermione walked into the office, to find not only McGonagal and Malfoy, but Dumbledore as well. There was a large packet of papers on the desk in front of them, which read HEAD CODE in large letters. As Hermione came in the door, she was positive she heard Draco say something about "Stupid, late Mudbloods."  
  
"Ah, Miss Granger." Dumbledore hummed, his eyes (how could they not be?) twinkling, "We were just about to come find you. Did you have a good summer? "Of course, he was just saying this to be polite. He knew what kind of summer Hermione had had. And it wasn't good.  
  
"Just fine, thank you sir." she responded, pulling a fake smile. " Sorry to keep you waiting." She gave a meaningful glance to Professor McGonagal, "I know you need to get to the sorting."  
  
She waved her hand dismissively (I know it's not spelled right, okay people!). "Don't be silly. Hagrid's doing the sorting this year." Hermione almost started laughing at the thought of Hagrid placing the sorting hat on the little first year's heads. She could see Dumbledore smiling slightly as well.  
  
Then he spoke.  
  
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate both of you of making Head Boy and Girl this year. You two are the top of your class this year. I know you'll make us all proud."  
  
"This year, we've established a Head Code to ensure that your year is as enjoyable as possible for the both of you. I know for a fact that the two of you aren't exactly friends, so we knew that you may have a few problems sharing a dorm this year." McGonagal said sternly.  
  
Both of the student's mouths dropped open "WHAT!?!?!?!?!?" The two jumped up and started yelling.  
  
"I cant' share a dorm with that...that THING!" Hermione cried, motioning to Malfoy.  
  
"For once I must agree with Granger. This is an outrage!" he said, looking angry as well.  
  
"Sit down, both of you!!!" yelled McGonagal. They were back in their chairs almost instantly. "Now listen, this is important!"  
  
"Thank you, Minerva." Dumbledore said, his eyes smiling (A/N: You guys know what I mean right?) at her over his half-moon spectacles. "As we were saying..."  
  
Suddenly, a 5th year girl appeared in the doorway. "Headmaster, Professor McGonagal, something just fell out of Hagrid's coat and it's scaring off all the first years!" she exclaimed, looking extremely worried. "Professor Snape sent me here for your help."  
  
"Oh dear, we better look into that." Dumbledore said making his way towards the door. Before he left, the Headmaster turned back to them. "Please, while we're gone, read through the code. If you agree, sign this contract." He flicked his wand and a piece of parchment appeared on the table. "So long."  
  
He left her there with Malfoy. He was going to make her share a dorm with Malfoy. He was the once that had made Malfoy Head Boy in the first place. Hermione now hated Dumbledore. He was the root of all horrible things that happened to her at school.  
  
"Bloody hell, does he really expect us to read this entire thing?" Malfoy spat, a look of disgust on his face. "Look how long it is! I'm not staying up half the night for this! I have a life you know." Hermione resisted the urge to make fun of him at this comment. She was already tired enough without having an insult-fight with Ferret Boy.  
  
"You know what Granger? I suggest we just pretend we read it all and sign. Otherwise we'll miss the rest of 7th year just going through it." Malfoy said sliding up next to her. "C'mon Hermione." He whispered in her ear. "All you have to do is sign. Nobody will ever have to know." Draco grinned mischievously. "Our secret."  
  
Hermione shrank away quickly. He was way too close. But he did have a point. It was school after all. They couldn't be signing on anything that they would regret right? Probably just stuff like respecting the others property and not turning each other's hair pink. Besides, she didn't want to get into an argument.  
  
She walked over to the desk and picked up the contract. "Where do I sign?" she sighed, scanning the page for a place for her signature.  
  
Malfoy smirked proudly. "I knew you weren't completely hopeless Granger."  
  
10 minutes later, Dumbledore and McGonagal returned, holding a niffler in a wooden cage. It whimpered and Dumbledore stroked its nose to quiet it down.  
  
"Have you too read over the material and signed?" McGonagal asked giving them a sideways glance. "This is what will get you through the year."  
  
"Yes, Professor." Hermione replied sweetly. "Draco and I both agree that we should treat each other better this year. We think the code was a marvelous idea!"  
  
McGonagal looked pleased. "Good. I'm glad that both of you have decided to put your differences aside. Now, go to the feast and afterwards, come back here and I'll show you to your dorm."  
  
Once outside the office, Malfoy raised his eyebrows at her, surprised. "Well done, Granger. Didn't think you'd be able to lie to a teacher. '  
  
She merely rolled her eyes at him, "I've done more than you know Malfoy. More than you will ever know." With that, she walked off, leaving him alone in the empty hallway.  
  
After an extremely enjoyable time in the Great Hall at the feast, Hermione made her way back to the office. Again, she was second and last to arrive.  
  
"How do you keep doing that?" Hermione inquired, eying him suspiciously, as they followed McGonagal down the halls.  
  
"Doing what?" he answered, running a hand through his gel- filled hair.  
  
"Getting everywhere before me! Do you have a Time Turner or something?" she said sarcastically. "Either that or you've obviously become determined to make me look late all the time"  
  
He looked down at her. "Possibly."  
  
She was about to ask him which one he meant when McGonagal turned around to face them. "Here." She said tapping the wall with the back of her hand, "Are your rooms." They were standing in front of a large painting of a wizard with different animals running around him. He was leaning down to pet each one tenderly.  
  
"No one is allowed in the dorm but your selves. Do not reveal the location of the room to anyone else either.  
  
"You each have your own bedroom and half of a large bathroom. Each of your halves is as big as the Prefects bathroom, so you have plenty of space. There is one common room, which you will share as you like.  
  
"Since I believe you can handle it, I'll allow you to choose your password. What will it be?" McGonagal concluded, saying this all very quickly.  
  
Draco looked at Hermione and shrugged. "You choose, I don't really care." He did, at first, regret saying this, but them realized Hermione was too...nice, would you say?... to make it something that would get another scream-fest started.  
  
She thought about it for a moment and them said , "How about 'signum'."  
  
He looked at her in surprise.  
  
"What? Everything else here is in Latin." She responded reasonably .  
  
McGonagal nodded approvingly. "That's very clever Miss Granger. By the way, you are still permitted to go to your House common rooms. The passwords are on your bulletin board inside. Signum." She said, tapping the painting and running the tip of her wand over it in a circle.  
  
The portrait swung open.  
  
A/N: Whew! Longest chapter yet! That took a lot out of me. I won't hold Chapter 4 hostage, but please, review. I want to know what you guys think. I just realized I forgot the disclaimer on Chapter 2 and 3. So here it is: I don't own Harry Potter.  
  
Anyway, bye-bye peeps,  
  
Sacagawea 


	4. The Death of Draco's Hair

A/N: Hi people! I'm here in my garden... of reviews. I shall tend to each and every one, because I love them. And because they are mine (I have a lot of siblings peeps, and I like having stuff to myself whatever chance I get). Back away! Mine! You shall never have MY REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pounces on unsuspecting butterfly I have you now, you filthy trespasser!!!  
  
Sorry about that, I just like being stupid sometimes. It is very time consuming, yet fun.  
  
Now, for the Reviewer Shout-Out:  
  
Chamorro: I have updated! WOOT!  
  
Alham: Thanks for reviewing. I read your story, by the way, it's great!  
  
Frifri: Yup, having not read the code will be there downfall...but you'll find out about that later. Evil laughter heard   
  
Hermione-Granger-420: Thank you for thinking that my story is good  
  
I'm done now, so, TO CHAPTER 4, ONWARD! (Sorry people, I ate lots of vanilla frosting a while ago.)  
  
Be a Doll  
Chapter 4: The Death of Draco's Hair  
  
There couldn't possibly be any other room in Hogwarts larger than this. It was huge. Huger than huge. It was GIGANTIC. Nobody in the world could help but be in awe by laying eyes on this room.  
  
This was all going through Hermione's head, as she looked around at her new dorm. But, leave it to the Ferret to ruin the moment.  
  
"This isn't that big. My living room at the Manor is twice as large as this." Draco sneered, his eyes scanning across the common room. " Thought we were supposed to be the special ones."  
  
Hermione simply glared at him.  
  
McGonagal didn't seem to be effected by the room either. But it occurred to Hermione that she had probably gotten used to showing to all the Heads, so she was immune to it's large...ish-nes!?! Okay, now she was pretty sure something was wrong with her. Hermione Granger did not use words that don't exist.  
  
The room was 3 times bigger than the normal common rooms. It had a fire big enough to walk into, which you could actually do. The actual fire was in the middle of a pit, with benches around it. There were 4 ten-foot- long couches, over-stuffed, just the way Hermione liked them. Countless armchairs were placed every where, in all different colors. There was also a desk in each corner, made of a deep, red wood, with the nameplates in neatly written script ' Head Boy' and ' Head Girl'.  
  
This was just all too amazing.  
  
"... and now I'll show you to your bed rooms." Said McGonagal, motioning for them to follow her up a wide set of stairs that went to different directions at the top.  
  
Oh great. Now, she wasn't even listening to her teachers. What next?  
  
They arrived at a heavy wooden door that stood about 8 feet tall. The initials ' HG' was on a silver plate hanging over it. Hermione wondered if the initials stood for Hermione Granger of Head Girl. Well, she would find out when they came to Draco's room, so she decided not to ponder at it any longer.  
  
Inside was a bed with silk covers and a warm quilt. She saw a flash of an orange bottlebrush tail and smiled. So Crookshanks was here. The bed looked so comfortable that Hermione realized how tired she was, and was about to fall asleep then and there, but kept herself awake. At least until the end of the tour.  
  
There were two more desks and a large wardrobe, not to mention her very own fireplace with another overstuffed arm chair for her to sit in. On the right wall was a window as tall as the door, with a balcony to sit in on warm evenings.  
  
If she had made the room herself, there wouldn't even have been so many wonderful things.  
  
"Miss Granger!" McGonagal exclaimed for the third time, "I asked you what color you would like the walls!"  
  
Hermione blushed, but decided her colors right away, "How about red and gold?" Why not show a little house pride? (A/N: I know that was cliched, but that is an extremely Hermione thing to do, don't you think?)  
  
McGonagal nodded and waved her wand. Instantly the white walls were adorned in the Gryfinndor colors.  
  
They went through another door, and entered a bathroom (as promised) as big the Prefect bathroom. A full size mirror hung on the back of the door, so you could examine yourself from all angles. There was a bathtub and big as a pool, with different taps for the water scents, like strawberry and vanilla. There was also a special tap just to add bubbles with settings for the size, from 'teeny' to 'enormous'. There was a separate area with a shower, and a huge counter top with millions of drawers for make-up and such.  
  
Passing through yet another door to Draco's bathroom, Hermione found it looked pretty much the same except for a smaller counter top and more 'manlier' scents for the bath water. How a scent could be manly, Hermione didn't know, but it wasn't really her problem, now was it?  
  
They all filed into Draco's room, which was bigger than her room, for some strange reason. Again, everything was the same, except his bed did not have pink-tinted sheets. His were plain white. In the corner of the room was a giant bird cage with his eagle owl sitting silently.  
  
"Color?" McGonagal's voice made her jump. Nobody had talked for the past 10 minutes.  
  
"Silver and green, Professor." Draco said smugly casting Hermione a look that said, 'See, I can show House pride too.'.  
  
She decide to just ignore him.  
  
"Well, now that I've shown you around, I'll be going. Any questions?"  
  
Both shook their heads and she gave a nod and exited the room.  
  
Draco and Hermione stood there for a minute before he spoke.  
  
"Right, then. Better turn in." said Draco, looking down at her quickly, absentmindedly swinging his arms.  
She walked over to the door. "Oh, yes. Good night." Hermione quickly slid out the door, giving a small wave.  
  
"Good night." he responded over his shoulder, walking towards his bed.  
  
Strange how they could only be civil in weird situations. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
Ah, morning. The sun was streaming through his window onto his calm face.  
  
Too bad it wasn't going to stay that way.  
  
Draco rose and got out of bed, stretching and yawning, while making his way over to the tall wardrobe across the room. He realized that it was rather on the early side, but didn't really feel like going back to sleep. The floor was cold and it had now fully woken him up.  
  
The wardrobe doors swung open and he grabbed a his shirt, pants, tie and robe from their hanger. From the floor of the closet, Draco grabbed a pair of dark green socks and his shoes. He was surprised that everything had been previously unpacked , but grateful. It would be so tiresome to do it himself. Being Head Boy had it's priorities.  
  
After pulling on his clothes, Draco went into the bathroom to gel his hair. He reached down into the cabinets to look for his bottles of gel. Since everything else had been unpacked, he suspected that that would be too.  
  
But to his horror, when he looked into the cabinets they were empty. There was nothing to be seen except for a few spider webs. So he pulled open one of the various drawers. Nothing . And another. Nothing. Another. Still nothing.  
  
He frantically tore apart the whole bathroom searching, but there wasn't anything there to search for.  
  
Then he remembered.  
  
The night he was packing, he had been in such a rush, he ran around stuffing everything into his trunk as fast as he could. He put all his gel and shampoo, into a bag and...  
  
PUT IT ON HIS BED.  
  
His gel was at home. All of it. SITTING ON HIS FREAKIN' BED!!!  
  
Well, that was it then.  
  
He ran back into the bedroom and dove under his covers.  
  
Hogwarts was simply going to have to live without his presence today. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()())()()()()()()()()()()  
  
Hermione woke about an hour later, refreshed and feeling a lot more attentive than she had last night. She blinked a few times in the sun light, which was coming through her open window, along with a warm breeze. It blew across her face and hair, which she realized was sticking out everywhere.  
  
But before taking care of her hair problem, Hermione decided to get dressed. She went to the wardrobe and got out her clothes and shoes, pulling them on and straightening them out before heading to the bathroom. She couldn't help but gulp when she saw how messed up her hair was, even in all the pins and clips she had it up in. This was going to take a lot of work.  
  
She yanked everything out of her horrible excuse for hair, and placed it on the counter, except for the few that had snapped in the process. Hermione grumbled at this and tossed them into the waste basket. Why was she cursed with this bush?  
  
Her brush was in the top drawer and she quickly passed it through the mess. After it was untangled, Hermione got out her wand from the pocket of her robe and muttering a quick spell, spun it up into a bun. For the smartest witch in Hogwarts, it had sure taken her a while to figure out she could use magic to deal with her hair. She had only started using spells to style her hair at the end of 6th year. It didn't really do much for the bushiness, but she had come to appreciate it. The last thing Hermione wanted was stick straight hair like Parkinson.  
  
Speaking of Slytherins, where was Malfoy? She hadn't seen him since last night, yet she hadn't heard him wake up either. She decided to go wake the git up. He had, after all, been fairly civil yesterday.  
  
But she still couldn't forget his torment for the past six years, so Hermione came out of her room and started banging on the door and yelling. "Oh, Malfoy!" she shouted, with particular glee, "Get up you great idiot, or you're going to be late for class!"  
  
To her surprise, from behind the door, came his low snarl. "Go away, Granger. I'm not coming to class. Just tell everyone I died."  
  
She sighed. "Though I'd love this to be true, I know it's not it. Now, get up."  
  
Hermione jiggled the door knob. It rattled, but the door refused to budge. For a moment, she thought about how she was going to get in, not really because she was worried about him, but purely to annoy him.  
  
Suddenly, she had the most brilliant idea. Going back into her room, she went into the bathroom to Malfoy's. She crept over to the door on that went into his room. Now it was time to take advantage of the element of surprise. Three, two, one...  
  
Hermione threw open the door and shouted, "HELLO, MALFOY!!!" Over at the bed, she saw something hidden under the blankets jump. So that's where he was hiding. She marched over to his bed and pulled off the covers to find Malfoy, fully dressed, scribbling away on a piece of parchment. Nothing looked particualy wrong with him. She wondered why he didn't want to come to class today.  
  
"Granger!" he growled angrily, "I thought I told you to go away!"  
  
She smiled sweetly, "But Draco-dearest, how could I go to class without my beloved git? How I'd miss you!" Hermione gushed, collapsing against the wall.  
  
Malfoy sneered. "Just go away Granger. I don't need your help." He got up, and letting out the eagle owl, attached the roll of parchment to it's leg. He watched it as it flew out the open window. Good. Now by this time tomorrow he would be practically swimming in bottles of hair gel.  
  
Hermione got up and walked over to him. "Seriously Malfoy, what is so terribly wrong with you that you can't go to class today?"  
  
He turned to her. "Do you really want to know?" She nodded.  
  
"I left all my gel at home."  
  
She laughed openly. "Is that all?"  
  
Taking him by the wrist, Hermione dragged him over to her side of the bathroom. She made him stand still while she reached into one of the drawers and took out a small, plastic comb.  
  
"Here." She handed it to him. "Use it."  
  
Malfoy simply stared back and forth, from her to the brush, confused as he thought possible.  
  
Hermione sighed yet again. "Oh, gimme that." She snatched the brush away from him and pulled his pale head down and started brushing his hair. It was soft and silky, things she desperately wanted her hair to be. Why did Malfoy get the nice hair? He was a guy! He didn't need it!  
  
She brushed it back, the way it naturally flowed. Just a few strands strayed, falling into his eyes. Hermione hadn't realized until now that they weren't grey; they had a hint of pale blue in them. And they were very, very nice...  
  
She shook her head to rid her mind of these thoughts. Draco Malfoy did NOT have nice eyes. He did not have great hair. It was all a figment of her imagination.  
  
Hermione stood back to admire her work. She had to admit he did look a lot better without the gel. Handsome, almost...  
  
Draco stood back to check himself in the mirror. Granger had done quite a good job. He suddenly felt her slipping something into his hand. It was the brush. He looked at her questionably.  
  
She shrugged. "I can't use it now. You keep it."  
  
He leaned against the counter top and got a faraway look in his eyes. "Granger, can I tell you something, if you swear not to tell?" She nodded slowly, waiting for what he would say. "Thank you."  
  
And with that, the Slytherin walked out of the room, leaving Hermione there, shocked.  
  
Quietly, to herself, she shook her head and laughed. "Malfoy, you never cease to amaze me."  
  
A/N: How was that? Please say that you liked it, I worked for about 4 hours on it! See how much I love you people? Now, go press the little blue/purple ( it depends who you are) button and review!  
  
BTW, I'm thinking of changing the rating to PG-13, purely because it would be more fun that way. Include your opinion IN THE REVIEW YOU ARE ABOUT TO WRITE! Bye-bye now,  
  
Sacagawea 


	5. Draco:Hot or Not?

A/N: I AM SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY! I've been having uploading problems, AND my floppy was defective, so I having to write Chapter 5 all over again. Hope that confirms that I have not abandoned you all. Again, sorry.  
  
But to get on with it. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! You guys rule! I didn't even have to hold the last chapter hostage!  
  
So, to the Reviewer Shout-Out:  
  
**Kay345**:Thanks for reviewing! I have FINALLY updated.  
  
**Frifri**: I have a #1 fan? Cool! BTW, when I said that it would be more fun, I meant for me to write. I could put more in if the rating was higher.  
  
**Exploded toilet bowl**: Magnificent? Really? I'm touched  
.  
  
**Slave2spike4eva'N'eva**: Thanks! I read one of your stories btw, have you seen the review?  
  
So, again, thank you people. Here's Chapter 5!  
  
**Be a Doll  
Chapter 5: Draco-Hot or Not?**  
  
Hermione went down to the Great Hall soon after the hair incident. She sat down next to Ginny, who seemed very distant at the moment. Harry and Ron still had summer homework to finish before class. She had no idea why they hadn't asked for her help, but would go find them later.  
  
" GINNY!" she said again, " Are you even listening to me?" She had been trying to tell her about her new room, but all Ginny had done was nod and murmur a few " Interesting." S.  
  
Ginny smiled dreamily, and pointed a finger to (take a wild guess) the Slytherin table, where Malfoy was sitting. Hermione glanced around the hall to see many other girls looking the same.  
  
" Look at Malfoy! He-has-no-gel! God, he is so HOT, with his hair falling into his eyes like that..." Ginny trailed off and sighed, resting her head on her arms.  
  
Hermione looked at Draco again, and back at Ginny. So he did have nice eyes. Ginny was usually right about boys...  
  
She mentally slapped herself. Draco Malfoy was NOT HOT. Malfoy was as hot as Ron was smart. There. A perfectly good insult. She was still on the home planet.  
  
" Hey, don't I get any credit?" Hermione asked, pouting, " If it wasn't for me he would still be hiding under his covers like the baby he is."  
  
Ginny looked at her, and in a whisper, demanded, " Tell me everything you know."  
  
Hermione laughed and grabbed three piece of toast. " I will, but not right now. Have to go save Harry and Ron from detention. Tell you what though. I'll meet you in the Gryffindor girl's dorm after classes. Then, I can tell you anything you want to know." With that, Hermione scooped up her bag and swept out of the Great Hall, leaving Ginny to stare at the Slytherin by herself.  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
" 'Mione, you are a lifesaver." Said Ron, as he and Harry started to copy down her essay. " I am forever in your debt."  
  
Hermione had found the two boys on the verge of starting a game of Exploding Snap and just receiving a bad grade. She had lectured them about how important this year was and how they couldn't skiv off whenever they wanted too and such. After a while, she had decided they suffered enough and handed over her History of Magic essay.  
  
Hermione sighed and sat back on the couch. " I couldn't let you two fail, Ron. Not yet anyway. But don't get used to this." She snapped. " Because I'm not going to let you copy ever again. You hear that Harry Potter? NEVER AGAIN!"  
  
At this, Harry merely grinned. " I know I haven't got a mother Hermione, but I'm doing just fine, thanks."  
  
She made a face at him, but on the inside was smiling too. This is where she belonged. Here at Hogwarts, with her two best friends in the world. Even if they were idiots, they were her idiots.  
  
Hermione decided that having them copy her homework was just another way they bonded.  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
" Wonderful. Double Potions with Slytherins." Harry grumbled, taking out his schedule. " Won't this be fun?" he commented sarcastically, as the three walked out of the Transfiguration classroom and made there way to the dungeons.  
  
" By the way, how it is going sharing a room with Malfoy? He didn't do anything to you did he? Because if that guy did," Ron raised his fist and showed them. " This is what he'll be having for lunch.  
  
Hermione pulled Ron's hand down, and shook her head. " Oh Ron, don't be a prat. Malfoy hasn't done anything to me. To tell you the truth, he was being fairly civil yesterday." She decided not to tell them of this morning's events, or yesterday's for that matter. Harry and Ron would be plotting Malfoy's death before she would be able to finish.  
  
Ron opened his mouth to say something, but right then they reached. the Potions room. The three dashed into the room and sat down right before the bell rang, so Snape would have no reason to count them late.  
  
Snape was already at the front of the room. He looked rather disappointed that he had no reason to subtract points from the Gryffindors.  
  
Suddenly, Neville fell off his seat, giving a small yelp when he landed on the floor. Snape's thin lips turned up into an evil grin. " Interrupting class, Longbottom? Five points from Gryffindor."  
  
Neville whimpered. " But Professor..."  
  
" Ten points from Gryffindor."  
  
Neville picked himself up off the floor and got back on his stool, staring down at his hands and not making sound, trying to ignore the Slytherins laughing.  
  
Hermione looked over at them in fury, a certain fire in her eyes. Malfoy, who had been laughing rather loudly before, caught her eye and froze. He elbowed Crabbe and Goyle to shut up and after that, the laughter quickly died down.  
  
Hermione was rather surprised at this but decided to ponder at it later. Snape was starting the lesson. Since this was her N.E.W.T. year, she didn't want to miss a thing.  
  
" Today, you will be making a invisibility potion. It is generally used to spy on people, and gather information. It makes you unseen and unheard, though you can still be felt. Slightly more efficient than an invisibility cloak." Snape droned, casting a significant glance at Harry. " This will most likely be on your N.E.W.T.'s, so close attention to what your doing. You'll be testing the potions on these spiders," he waved his wand and jars with spiders in them appeared. " Find someone to work with. Directions are on the board. Begin now!" Snape finished, sweeping over to his desk.  
  
Hermione looked around for someone to work with. But it seemed that everyone was already partnered up. Not even Neville was alone.  
  
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. She was tempted to peek across the room to the Slytherin side. ' Please, PLEASE, do not let a Slytherin be free...let me work alone...  
  
But before she could look, a pale hand grabbed her and brought her over to the back of the classroom.  
  
Hermione looked up at the boy. " _Malfoy_? What do you think you're doing?" she said in a loud whisper.  
  
" Well Granger, I don't have a partner and neither do you, so we have to work together. Pass me that jar of bat wings."  
  
She did, but continued to stare at him in a confused state.  
  
He sighed and stopped working for a moment. " Look Granger, I don't really want to work with you, and unless I'm mistaken you feel the same way. I just want to get through Potions. So, just pass me the stuff and other than that we don't have to talk, all right?" Draco pleaded, running a hand through his hair.  
  
Hermione shrugged and gave him the dragon fly juice.  
  
He seemed to smile slightly as he took it from her and poured it into the cauldron.  
  
" By the way, your hair looks better like that." She muttered almost inaudibly.  
  
" Hmm?" Draco glanced up from his stirring, looking innocent for once. Hermione almost had a heart attack. He had to be the best-looking...  
  
" Nothing." she finished, tossing the bottle of snakeskin dust to him. " I said nothing."  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
The rest of the day went quickly after that, and before she knew it , Hermione was making her way up to the Gryffindor girl's dorms. She got to Ginny's room, and she immediately let Hermione in. She locked the door after her, and was putting a silencing charm on the room, when Hermione turned away from Ginny.  
  
Sitting on the bed smiling at her were Lavender and Parvati.  
  
" GINNY!" Hermione exclaimed angrily, " I said I'd tell _you_ everything, not have a sleep-over with these two!"  
  
" Oh 'Mione, don't be thick. We're having a sleep-over_ next_ week." Ginny said laughing, before explaining herself. " Well, when they heard that you were going to tell me about Malfoy, they wanted to come too, so I introduce you to...Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, Boy Experts Extroirdanaire!"  
  
Lavender and Parvati jumped up and started bowing, giggling the whole time.  
  
" Oh, fine." Hermione grumbled, settling down next to Parvati. " But only if they swear not to tell ANYBODY what they hear." The two raised their right hands and Hermione began.  
  
" Well, I guess I should start from when I got on the train..."  
  
So for the next half hour, Hermione told them everything, from slamming open the door to the very last second of Potions. She found herself really getting into it, for some odd reason, but didn't stop herself. In a freaky girlish way, it was kind of fun.  
  
When she was finally done, Lavender heaved a loud sigh. " _Wow_. I mean really wow. If I had known that I could be working along side Malfoy right now, I would have worked harder since year one. I know he's a total prat and all, but you can't ignore his looks."  
  
Parvati seemed awe struck. " How does his hair feel Hermione? I mean it looks nice from far away, but what does it feel like?"  
  
Hermione began gazing off into space. " It is nice. Really soft and smooth, and...this may sound stupid, but _silky_. Oh and his-" she cut herself off. She decided not to tell them about the real color of his eyes. They didn't ask right? So they didn't have to know. She could just keep it to herself.  
  
It took her a couple of seconds to realize what was happening. SHE WAS FAWNING OVER DRACO MALFOY!!! So there WAS something wrong with her. She had to be sick. Yes, that was it. She was sick. Or under a spell. Hmm, more probable. Actually, it made perfect sense. Mafloy put a charm on her to make her like him. Now all she had to do was interrogate Ferret Face on the subject...  
  
" HERMIONE!" the three girls yelled, suddenly breaking her trance.  
  
" Stop yelling, you bloody idiots, we're in the same room!" She snapped, without thinking. When she saw the looks on their faces, she added a small " Sorry." in a quiet voice.  
  
Ginny then motioned for Hermione to lean in closer. " Okay, I just have one question to ask you." She made her voice even softer, though nobody would be able to hear here through the silencing charm. " Do you...oh, I don't know LIKE HIM?!?" Ginny finished in a loud sqeal, almost popping her ear drum.  
  
Hermione froze. Oh God, is THAT what this was about?  
  
She marched over to the door, and unlocked it. " Of course I don't. How could you even THINK that?" she said icily, turning the handle. " I sorry girls, but I have a lot of homework to get to. GOOD NIGHT!"  
  
She fled down the stairs, past Harry and Ron, who were trying to get her attention, past the portrait hole, even pushing a first year who was in her way.  
  
Hermione needed to be alone, and she needed it NOW.  
  
A/N: Well, how was it? I know it's not as long as the last one, but send me enough reviews and it will be as long as Chapter 4 all righty?  
  
Some really interesting stuffs going to happen next, so keep reading!  
  
bye-bye now,  
  
Sacagawea


	6. Bubble Bath, and Girlish Wrath

A/N: So you all liked the fifth chappie? Good! That's why I'm posting this new chapter so soon. I can't believe I got so many reviews! YOU GUYS ARE THE BESTEST REVIEWERS TO EVER WALK THE FACE OF THE EARTH!!!!!! To the Shout-Out!:  
  
Frifri: Well, sort of. Read Hermione's confusing explanation in this chapter, if you think you were confusing!  
  
Hermione-Granger-420: Wonderful? Thanks!  
  
Iluvwriting: Thank you for not choosing to stalk me, but you're really good too! I read the first chapter of Fights at Hogwarts, and you better update!  
  
Exploded toilet bowl: Ooooh, awesome! That's (I think) better than marvelous!  
  
Chamorro: Thank you for loving the story, that's all I'm asking folks!  
  
ALExABlack: I've decided it's staying PG anywho, so don't worry. Hope you found this fic though, because I love reviews.  
  
Dianna: She is _deep_ denial...  
  
Karana Belle: Your really think it's funny? Good. Anyway, good guess on where she's going, but you'll see...  
  
Sentra: So it's not boring, disgusting or disappointing? Cool! Cause that is exactly what my sister says, but I want to take your word for it. I like it better._ Much_ better.  
  
Thanks again, and here's you chapter!  
  
**Be a Doll  
Chapter 6:Bubble bath, and Girlish Wrath  
**  
'_Everyone SUCKS, everyone SUCKS, everyone SUCKS,_ and _they hate me, so I have an especially hard time. Everyone can go and die for all I care!!!_' Hermoine thought as she stormed down the hallways to her dorm. ' _I cannot BELIEVE them. Thinking I like Malfoy, well they know NOTHING._' she reassured herself ' _Those three lunatics are complete idiots, and I am now wondering why I EVER called them my friends._'  
  
' **Now, now, Hermione, isn't that a bit harsh?**' another voice scolded, '** I mean, you are giving off those kinds of signs. They just wanted to know.**'  
  
' _Sod off, who ever the hell you are._' she scowled mentally, running up a flight of stairs. She was now coming close the portrait. Ah, how sweet silence would be...  
  
' _**Touchy, now aren't we? All I'm saying is-**_'  
  
"NOT LISTENING!" she bellowed out loud, turning a corner. "Signum!" she shouted at the wizard in the picture, while already trying to go through the portrait hole. The wizard gave her a stern look, but opened up for her anyway. Hermione was planning to just go up to her room, but that blonde devil was blocking her way.  
  
"Where are we going in such a hurry Granger? I think it's past your bedtime." Malfoy remarked, smirking rather largely.  
  
She stared up at him for a minute, not saying or doing anything. Then, without warning, she raised her hand and slapped him across the face, sending Malfoy flying across the room from surprise. He held his jaw, and glared at her evilly, struggling to get up.  
  
Hermione was already to her room before he even managed to stand. She locked her door with the strongest spell she could think of, and threw herself across the bed, muffling her face in a pillow. She screamed as loud as possible, but even doing this did not get her to calm down. She wished she knew of the best way to relax.  
  
Suddenly, she popped up, a look of realization on her face. Hermione wasn't the smartest witch at Hogwarts for nothing. What she needed was ultimate relaxation, and to get that all she needed was...  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
10 minutes later, Hermione stood at the edge of her bathtub, watching as millions of tiny pink bubbles flowed into the strawberry scented water. She grinned, and dipped her toe into the tub. The water was warm and calming. Hermione grinned wider. That was just what she had been going for. Being a genius was soooooo fun.  
  
She took off her terry-cloth bathrobe and threw it to the side. For once, she didn't care about being disorganized. Hermione was here to relax and that is what she was going to do. And whoever ruined it would die. She didn't give a crap if she went to Azkaban. If anyone interrupted her, she would be angry enough to conjure up Avada Kedavra.  
  
See? She could even be impractical now that everyone was leaving her alone. Hermione was seriously thinking about becoming a hermit when she heard it. A small noise. Sort of a shuffling. Or was it? She listened closer. Actually it was like a small laugh.  
  
Then a loud 'BANG' interrupted the almost-silence. Hermione jumped out of the bath and threw on her robe. She drew out her wand, and inched around the bathroom, clutching her collar. "Who's there?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, "I'm armed, don't come any closer. Show yourself!" Hermione continued, backing up towards the door. This reached for the doorknob and started to turn it...  
  
Right then, she felt herself being lifted by the arms. Hermione was floating in mid-air, kicking, and thrashing about wildly. "Let me GO!" she cried, trying to wrench her arm away from an invisible hand. "Someone HELP!" she called, as she was pulled into her room. "Anybody! Malfoy! Draco, help me!!!" Hermione was frantic now. Where were they taking her?  
  
'_Oh, Draco Malfoy, where are you when I need you?_' she thought, kicking harder. He could be gone any other time, but not NOW! Someone she couldn't even see was kidnapping her!  
  
"Oh, Hermione, shut up, we're not going to hurt you." Said a familiar voice in her ear. "We only wanted to talk to you, and there wasn't any other way, so we followed you here. I'm surprised you didn't catch us before." The voice continued, setting her down on the bedroom floor.  
  
Another voice was talking now. "Yes, I am surprised. We were making an awful lot of noise. By the way, what does 'signum' mean?"  
  
For the second time that night, realization hit Hermione smack in the face. "_Lavender_? _Parvati_? What are you doing here?!? And why are you invisible?"  
  
Parvati's voice was talking again. "I told you, we wanted to talk to you. Didn't you listen to a word we said?" While she spoke, her face was coming back into view.  
  
"Wouldn't, ' Oh hi Hermione, can we talk to you?' work? You didn't have to kidnap me!" she screeched, dragging herself off the floor.  
  
"Not in the mood your in! You would have hexed us into oblivion if we even said one word to you! So don't even go there." Lavender stated, pointing her appearing finger at her.  
  
Hermione waved her hand to shake off the question. "Okay, fine then. But again, why are you invisible? And how?"  
  
Lavender giggled and probably would have rolled her eyes, except they hadn't appeared yet. "Well, today in Potions, we made what? That's right. An invisibility potion. We saved some. Parvati and I were originally going to use it for spying on people like Snape said, but decided to use it for a more nobler cause." She said the last part dramatically, pressing her hand to her half-visible chest.  
  
"Much nobler." Parvati nodded. "We didn't know how long it would last, but apparently not very. I think I see why Snape barely gave me an 'Acceptable' last year. So, anything else you want to know?"  
  
Hermione just stared at them for a moment, before breaking out into a smile. "I can't believe you two. I really just can't. And normally, I probably would hex you, but I just find it all too amusing to. So since you're here..." she faked a sigh, "I guess we can talk. But let me get dressed first."  
  
The other two squealed with delight, and ran into the bathroom to wait until Hermione changed.  
  
While Hermione pulled on her clothes she shook her head and laughed. ' _Okay, Conscience, I was wrong, they are my friends. Happy now?_' she thought, addressing the small voice.  
  
' **Quite. How'd you know I was you conscience? Most people don't figure it out.**' It asked, seeming to accept her apology.  
  
' _Hey. For the hundredth time, I'm not the smartest witch at Hogwarts for nothing_.'  
  
' **Oh, right.**'  
  
She called Lavender and Parvati back into the room, and the three sat on the bed, Hermione sitting cross-legged, Parvati laying down on her stomach, and Lavender looking up at the ceiling.  
  
"So...what exactly did you want to talk about?" Hermione asked steadily, leaning back on her palms. Actually, this was kind of relaxing too.  
  
Parvati shot her a look. "Guess." She said sarcastically.  
  
Hermione sighed and looked up at the ceiling like Lavender. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that. But I think I should explain something."  
  
Lavender flipped over and looked at Hermione as well. "And what is that?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows. She seemed happy that she had finally gotten her way, and was getting her to talk about Malfoy.  
  
"Well, it's mostly that I don't like him. He can be almost nice sometimes and, you know, I really like nice. And that means I like the nice side of him, not really Malfoy himself. I mean, I like Harry, he's my best friend, but sometimes, he can just be so _thick_, and it gets on my nerves. It's kind of the opposite of that with Malfoy. Do you get it?"  
  
Parvati was now looking at the ceiling. "You forgot about him being hot."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes and answered sarcastically. "Yes, of course Parvati."  
  
Lavender sat up and breathed heavily. "I think...that Hermione's problem is that she is just too damn confusing to get her point across." She grinned. "English please."  
  
"I don't like Malfoy, I like the nice person that is apparently in there. Somewhere."  
  
"See, there you go with the confusing again." Parvati sat up as well.  
  
"Fine. Simpler then. I don't like that slimy ferret at all. That's about as simple as I can make it girls." Hermione said.  
  
Parvati rubbed her hands together. "Okay then, _now_ we're getting somewhere."  
  
Hermione made a face at her. "This is not a therapist session. I am merely the Head Girl that was kidnapped by two of her friends while taking a bubble bath. My situation is much more drastic."  
  
"We are sorry we have angered the Great and Almighty Hermione. Now tell us the good things about Draco Malfoy, and we'll go from there." Lavender said impatiently.  
  
"He's clever, I'll give him that. Not that many other people in the world can catch me off guard, or anger me that much. " Hermione started, shrugging.  
  
"So you think he's special."  
  
"Well, now that I think about it, sort of, in a really _weird _way."  
  
"And what else?" questioned Parvati.  
  
"He's smart, I suppose, or he wouldn't have been made Head Boy."  
  
"Okay...so he's up to your speed."  
  
"I guess you could say that...but don't, please, I don't want to vomit."  
  
"Keep going, this is getting interesting.  
  
"And he has nice eyes." Hermione blurted, not thinking. She clasped her hands over he mouth as soon as she said so, her eyes growing wide with shock and embarrassment. Parvati and Lavender grinned evilly and hopped off the bed.  
  
"I think we're done now, don't you Lavender?" Parvati smirked, as they walked toward the door.  
  
"Oh, definitely, Parvati. That will be all, Hermione. See you tomorrow."  
  
"**PETRIFUS TOTALUS**!!!" screamed Hermione, pointing her wand at them.  
  
The two girls clattered to the floor, perfectly still.  
  
Hermione ran over to them and bit her lip nervously. "I'm sorry, but you made me do it. I couldn't have you two running around the school telling people _that_. I didn't even mean it. So unless you sign a contract saying that you won't tell anyone, I'm not letting you go and that's final. All right?"  
  
She realized that they couldn't answer and immediately un-petrified them. Both of the girls looked angry, but agreed to a contract after a bit of persuading.  
  
Hermione also noticed that they couldn't leave if Malfoy was in the common room. She would get in trouble for someone knowing the location of the Head Dorms. She first made sure the coast is clear (which it was) and let them out.  
  
Just when they got to the portrait hole, Parvati turned back around. "By the way, Hermione, do you want to come to the sleep-over next week?" she asked.  
  
Hermione was stunned. "Ginny wasn't joking?"  
  
Lavender shook her head. "No way. So will you come?"  
  
After a bit of thought, Hermione nodded. A sleepover would be good for her. She really did need to wind down every once in a while.  
  
With a final smile, the two girls left, and Hermione turned to her homework, and worked on it till night. At least she could count on that friend not to kidnap her.

A/N: I know, it's a little short, but I wanted to post this chapter really bad, so I promise the next one will be long. So, did you like it? Chapter 7 is going to be mostly from Draco's point of view, and in Chapter 8 the madness will start. I can't wait. So, review, review, review, cause when you do, the chapter comes faster.  
  
Bye-bye now peeps,  
  
Sacagawea 


	7. She Thinks I Did WHAT?

A/N: Yay! From all the reviews I've gotten, I take it you guys liked Chapter 6! Well, I just really wanted to get this one posted, because in Chapter 8, you will start to understand the title, and in Chapter 9, you'll find out what the terrible thing that happened to Draco is. And I will have no pity on Hermione whatsoever. MWAHAHAHA!!!  
  
As promised, this Chapter will be from Draco's point of view, except for one small part. (I realized that I couldn't have the sleep-over just yet, but don't worry it will be in here, and let me tell you, it'll be FUNNY.)  
  
So, I'm going to do the shout-out now, because I want to answer your reviews:  
  
**Juno's Mome Rath:** That doesn't count.  
  
**Exploded toilet bowl**: I apologize if I am being a complete idiot, but does that mean you didn't like it or you did? Again, sorry if I'm being stupid.  
  
**Frifri:** You can compare yourself to Hermione in the last chapter? Actually, that's kind of interesting. I didn't realize it's been so long since I've updated.  
  
**Sena**: Thanks. I havent' been able to update in a while. ( See A/N at the bottom)  
  
**Sentra**: As you wish. The mush will be down to a minimum.  
  
**SweetiePye2332**: Okaly-dokaly  
  
**Luvvinjamespotter**: Yeah, I just _loved_ writing the hair part, and the rating is staying PG. Thanks for loving the story. But don't worry. The romance is coming.  
  
**Hermione-Granger-420**: Yes, I totally agree. Draco RULES!  
  
**Slytherinpunk**: Glad I could help, this story will be _very_ light-hearted. I not that big a fan of extremely sad/dramatic stories, though there are quite a few good ones out there.  
  
Okay, then, hope you like Chapter 7!  
  
**Be a Doll  
Chapter 7:She Thinks I Did WHAT?!?  
  
** Draco woke on September 3rd very excited about something, though he couldn't remember what. He sat in bed for a moment, trying to remember if he was waiting for something. From what he remembered, he'd gotten the latest broom _last_ week, and there was nothing else he would actually care about. Well, except for...  
  
Suddenly his owl swooped into the room, dropping a large bag into his lap. ' _This is it!_' his mind screamed. ' _It's my gel!_' But before he could hear much else, the stupid bird started screeching and nipping at his arm. " Go away Merlin, I'll feed you later." he said to it, attempting to yank him off the bed. " I told you, your not allowed on the bed."  
  
He forced the struggling bird into its cage and locked the door. ' _He probably just hates me because I gave him that dumb name. Why _did _I name him Merlin?_' he thought, getting out his clothes. ' _Probably because I was 10, and stupid._' he decided, grabbing the bag of gel and bringing it into the bathroom. ' _Or was I eleven?_'  
  
Draco stopped thinking about his vicious bird for a moment and stared at himself in the mirror. Right now his hair was loose and combed back, courtesy of Granger and her hair skills. He found himself wondering how she could do that, with her hair looking like a bush everyday. Then again, he'd never seen her without her nose stuck in a book, so maybe she didn't care about how she looked.  
  
' _But enough about her._' He thought looking down at the bag of gel. ' _This is about me._'  
  
He had to admit, though he was used to his gel, he really had looked good yesterday. From the dreamy gazes he had gotten, he found that the girls rather liked that look. But then all his efforts to get out of bed and write that letter home yesterday would have been worthless. And his parents would get very angry with him not using that year's supply of gel that he begged them to buy.  
  
Then again, would it hurt if he just didn't use the stuff today? Nobody but Merlin even knew he had already gotten the package. Tomorrow he would start using it again. It was the perfect plan.  
  
He hoped.  
  
Stuffing the bag under the cabinet, Draco pulled out the comb Granger hand given him yesterday. Now what had she done with it? Yes she pulled it back that way...  
  
Draco looked in the mirror to see his hair sticking up the back, much like Potter's. He shivered at the thought of looking at all like that freak, and smoothed his hair back down with his hands.  
  
Or maybe she had down it _this_ way. Oh great. Now he looked like Weasley.  
  
After at least a dozen more try's, he felt like giving up. At the moment his hair was so messed up that even with gel it wouldn't lie flat.  
  
But there was one person who could get it to...  
  
He found himself banging on the door to Granger's bedroom a few seconds later.  
  
" Granger! Granger wake up! I need help."  
  
No answer.  
  
" C'mon _Hermione_, this is important." He said, emphasizing her name. He was positive that would get her up.  
  
Through the door, Draco could hear a mumble and a bit of stumbling around the room, along with a rather loud band followed by even louder cursing. Finally, Hermione opened the door, eyes still half-closed and her hair sticking out about 2 feet in every direction. She had obviously just gotten out of bed.  
  
" Nice pajamas Granger." He said in an amused tone. She was wearing large pink pants with bears holding red and white balloons, and a white tank top with another smiling bear on it. At this comment, she just scowled at him and crossed her arms over her chest protectively.  
  
" What," she started sleepily, " Is so important, that you had to wake me up at 6 o'clock in the morning to do? I was _sleeping_. It's something normal humans _do_." she hinted, wondering why he was up so early.  
  
" Ah, but Granger, we aren't normal humans, now are we?" Draco asked, throwing her a dazzling smile. Again, she scowled, but he noticed she seemed to open her eyes a bit more at his smile.  
  
" Cut the crap, Malfoy. What do you want?" Hermione asked impatiently, leaning against the doorframe. He could she was really getting annoyed now, but how could he help it? He'd been annoying her for the past 6 years, so it was kind of hard for him to ask her for something nicely.  
  
At this thought, Draco found himself at a loss for words. " Well I, uh...My, ummm.... What I mean to say is-" he cut himself off abruptly. Malfoy's did not say 'uh' and 'um' especially in front of lowly Mudblood!  
  
" My-gel-didn't-come-yet-and-I-wanted-to-know-if-you-could-help-me- with-my-hair." He said all in one breath. There. He said it.  
  
" Okay, all I got was 'gel', 'my' and 'hair'. Can you just slow down, it's 6 in the morning, we practically have all day.' she said sarcastically to him.  
  
He said it again, but decided to make it a little nicer, so she would for sure help him. " I didn't get my gel yet, so could you please help me with my hair? I tried to do it myself, and now it looks as bad as yours." Damn. Could he even say one thing to this girl without insulting her?  
  
" I suppose you mean that as to say it looks bad." she mused lazily, " And I am so tired, I don't even think I can hex you. So, yes, I'll help you Malfoy. But since, you already woke me up, I might as well get dressed." She walked farther into her room, and almost took off her shirt. Suddenly, she caught herself and turned around. " Malfoy." She made a shooing motion with her hands.  
  
" Oh yes, right." He said almost politely, closing the door, and going back to his side of the bathroom.  
  
Was it just him, or were he and Granger being nice to each other? Draco found himself just laughing at the thought and shook his head. There was no way.  
  
He hoped.  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
Draco was down at breakfast an hour later, his hair brushed back, a few strands falling into his eyes. Thankfully, Granger had been able to fix the mess he had made of it. It had taken almost a half an hour for her to just get dressed, and the same amount of time to do his hair. God, did girls work on funny schedules.  
  
Crabbe and Goyle were pigging out on either side of him. He hated watching them eat. It was disgusting. Usually, he just ignored them, but today, they were chewing really loudly, practically in his ears.  
  
" Would you two cut it out, the food's not going anywhere!" he snapped, wrenching Goyle's thirteenth muffin out of his hand. " Now try and eat like your not starving, like normal humans do." Where had he heard that line before?  
  
A few seats down, Blaise Zabini snorted. " Way to sound like Granger, Malfoy. Never thought I'd see the day." He laughed cruely, along with almost everyone else at the table.  
  
Draco would have blushed, but Malfoy's do not blush. They pale. And that is exactly what he did. He was now sheet white. That was where he had gotten the expression. But, he did have one thing to add so that he would have the last laugh.  
  
" Really, Zabini? And this is coming from someone who just the other day was saying the Weaselette was hot."  
  
With that, him, Crabbe and Goyle left the table, leaving the entire Slytherin house laughing at a bright red Blaise.  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()())(()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
Hermione entered the Great Hall for lunch, surprised to see Ginny gone from the table. She was going to show her a book she had found on magical beauty tips, that she was sure Ginny would love.  
  
" Ron, where's Ginny?" she asked, sitting down across from him. " I wanted to show her something."  
  
" How should I know?" Ron answered, not lifting his face from his plate of food. " I don't own her, we just happen to live in the same house."  
  
Hermione made a face at him, and turned to Harry. " How about you?"  
  
Harry shrugged. " Wasn't my turn to watch her."  
  
She got up in a huff. " You know, you two are really useless sometimes. _Really useless_."  
  
They weren't even listening.  
  
Actually, she had could have fun with this.  
  
" Hey, Harry." She said, sitting back down. " Have I ever told you how dumb your scar looks?" No response.  
  
" Ron, I think you're the stupidest person to ever walk to face of the Earth." Nothing. Not even a glance.  
  
" You guys, this morning I confessed my ever-lasting love to Malfoy."  
  
" WHAT!!!!!!!!!" they both yelled, jumping out of their seats.  
  
" Oh, you are listening!" she gushed sweetly. Then, laughing hysterically, she said in a normal voice. " I'm going over there." She pointed at Lavender and Parvati, who were giggling quietly a few seats down.  
  
Hermione took a seat next to Parvati, who quickly noticed her. " Oh, Hermione, the worst thing happened!" She had a worried look on her face and spoke sadly. " That idiot Colin Creevey did something to Ginny in Transfiguration, and she'll be in the hospital wing for the next two weeks." She lowered her voice. " I heard that she has warts all over her body."  
  
Lavender nodded solemnly, and spoke. " We're going to postpone the sleep-over until she's out. Won't be any fun without Gin anyway. Don't you think?"  
  
Hermione nodded, trying not to laugh. She knew she shouldn't, Ginny was one of her best friends. But stilll. Warts? Was that all? She'd had worse done to her. Try being turned into a life-sized cat.  
  
She got up and dashed out of the Great Hall. She was about to explode into giggles. Good thing everyone was too busy not noticing her to notice.  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
That night in the common room, Draco cornered Hermione.  
  
" Do you know what happened this morning?" he asked her icily, as if it was all her fault that his tongue had slipped. " I used that stupid saying of yours, and everyone accused me of liking a Mudblood." Okay, so they hadn't exactly done that, but who ever said stretching the truth would kill?  
  
" Why is that my problem, Malfoy? You said it, not me, and I didn't make you say it. Although I do suspect that you have put some sort of weird curse on me." She said angrily, trying to push her way past him. Shoot him for being so tall.  
  
" What do you mean, I put a curse on you? Why would I waste my precious time on a stupid Mudblood?!?"  
  
" You waste enough of your "precious time" to let me do your hair!"  
  
Okay, now that was crossing the line. No way was he ever asking for her help again.  
  
"This conversation has nothing to do with my hair. What the hell are you getting . at by saying I put a curse on you?" Draco argued, holding her shoulder against the wall with his hand. He wasn't through with her yet.  
  
"What I mean is you put some sort of weird charm on me so that I would like you! This is the only possible explanation, because never in a million years would I like you by choice!!!" She tugged at her shoulder, trying to pull free, but his hand stilll held it tight.  
  
It look a couple of seconds for her words to sink in . ' She thinks I did WHAT?!?' he repeated in his mind. ' Why would I want her to like me?' How dare she even think that! The girl was delerious. But his mind quickly formed a plan, and before he could think it over, his mouth was going.  
  
Draco realeased her shoulder from under his death grip. "I knew you would find me out sooner or later." he sighed. "I do have you under a very rare charm though, so actually you figured it out in quite good time."  
  
"I knew it!" Hermione shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at him. But she lowered it quickly. "But what is it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "It's not permanent, is it?"  
  
Draco's mouth went off again. "Oh, well it's hard to tell." He was slowly circling her now, and she he could tell she was starting to get uncomfortable. "I've put it on quite a few people. Some recover quickly. Others never do." Draco had her in a corner again. He didn't actually have to do much to get her there either. She kept trying to back away, and had ended up there.  
  
He brought his lips teasingly close to her face. "Do you want to know what it is?" Hermione shuddered, but nodded.  
  
"It's called the...Malfoy charm. Do you know how it works? I'll tell you." he leaned in towards her face again. "It's because I'm hot and your a girl. And nobody's immune to that." He watched as the curiousity on her face swiftly changed to anger, and before he could even laugh at his good trick...  
  
"That's the second time today, Granger. SECOND TIME TODAY! And what the...YOU STUPID GIRL YOU GOT BLOOD ALL OVER MY ROBES!!!" He was sitting against the desk, pinching his nose shut, which was pouring blood all over him. She was standing across the room, still fuming, not looking a bit sorry that she had just socked him as hard as humanly possible.  
  
He turned his head to look for a piece of cloth for his nose. When he did, Hermione gave a high-pitched yelp and clasped her hands over her mouth. "Malfoy, I suggest you sit down. Really." she said shakily, motioning towards the nearest couch.  
  
"Why? So you can break the rest of me too?" he answered furiously, still looking for some cloth. Draco suddenly felt something on the back of his neck. When he looked behind him, he saw it was Granger pressing a wet towel to it. "What are you doing?" he asked nastily, trying to push her off. But she wouldn't let him go.  
  
"Malfoy. Sit down." Then, with all her effort, she steered him around the room till he was sitting down. He tried to get up again, but all she did was yell at him, and he decided to just hold still. "Okay, Malfoy, you have this humongous cut all across your neck and it's bleeding like crazy. I think the desk scratched you." At first when she said this, Draco thought she was tricking him, but she stuck the towel in his face and sure enough there was a slash of blood across it.  
  
"Malfoy, I'm going to have to do a spell, and it's going to really hurt, but I need you to stay still. Or else it's going to get worse." He felt her wand tip being run over the cut, and suddenly a stinging pain fillled him. Draco flinched a bit and fought the urge to jump up from the couch. Then, it was gone and he heard a closing sound as the two flaps of skin sealed up.  
  
She then pointed her wand at his nose, and muttered "Reparo." It healed too, even though he was pretty sure that that spell didn't work on bones.  
  
"I'm really sorry Malfoy. I just sort of lost my temper." Hermione said, looking down at the ground. After a few moments of silence, she looked up and said. "This is the part where you forgive me and say that you're sorry too."  
  
Draco shook his head. Say sorry? Never. "No, actually it's not. I forgive you, but I have nothing to say sorry for." With that, he swept up the staircase, not looking back at her once.  
  
Hermione was now trying to remember why she didn't just let him bleed to death.  
  
A/N: I know, that was a little boring, but now it's done, and after a few of you review to tell me what a snore-fest it was, I will post CHAPTER 8, which I'm really excited about!  
  
Sorry about not updating in a while. I moving all the way across the country and I had to pack all day Saturday and Sunday, and yesterday I went to the opera, so I only worked on this Monday and today.  
  
Anywho, tell me what you think about this chapter, and thanks again for all the reviews.  
  
Bye-bye now,  
  
Sacagawea


	8. Birthday Girl

A/N: I'm here typing this with my Sour Skittles ('accidentally' dropping the orange ones on the floor) and my dog, who is sleeping in his chair. I got LOTS of reviews, and I just couldn't wait to post this chapter, because it has HERMIONE'S BIRTHDAY in it! Yay! There is a little fluff in this chapter, so be warned. Don't worry, not too much.

BTW, the first part of the chapter will be from Draco's POV, and the second half, from Hermione's.

Here's the Shout-Out:

**Frifri:** I think I pretty much answered your questions...

**slytherinpunk: **Sorry about that. My sister is usually breathin down my neck when I'm doing Quick Edit, so it's a little hard to concentrate. Glad you love this fic!

**Exploded toilet bowl: **Yay! I got an EXCELLENT!

**iluvwriting:**No, your going to have to wait a while for that...

**Karana Belle:** Well, I liked writing this chappie a lot more than Chapter 7. You find out a couple of things in this chapter. Very important things.

And now...CHAPTER 8.

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 8: Birthday Girl**

Over a week passed, without much event. Draco went back to using his gel, and Hermione went back to the books and not being waken up at 6 in the morning. The two rarely talked to each other, only speaking to plan out patrolling duties and to ask what Potions homework was.

Draco was okay with this, but in a strange way, he disliked the absence of words in the common room. Even if they were fighting, Draco would appreciate at least a little noise. He found himself wondering what he could do to get Granger to say something, anything, but decided against actually following through. He did not want to have his nose almost broken again.

The teachers decided that they would let the 7th years into Hogsmeade early this year, so they could have at least a little relaxation before they started piling on homework to get ready for N.E.W.T.'s. They were going on Saturday the 12th of September, which was only a few days into the school year.

Draco was down in the common room on the morning of the 12th, looking for the extra money his parents had sent him. He was positive it was in his desk. Well, almost positive. He had torn apart almost the whole thing still without luck. He was about to go upstairs and look in his other desk when he spotted it.

On his bulletin board next to the desk, there was a large envelope with the Hogwart's seal and his name written on it. Draco pulled it off the board and ripped open the letter. On the top of the letter it read 'Albus Dumbledore' and 'Minerva McGonagal' in flowing script. He started to read:

_To Mister Draco Malfoy: _

As you know, Miss Granger's birthday is next week. In the Head Code, which you signed at the beginning of the year, it stated that you will exchange Christmas and birthday presents. We except that you will get her something appropriate. If not, you must step down as Head Boy, which you also signed to in the Head Code.

Signed,

Albus Dumbledore Headmaster

and  
Minerva McGonagal Headmistress

Draco read and re-read the letter at least 10 times. Step down as Head Boy? For not getting Granger a birthday present? That was ridiculous! They couldn't do this!

He was about to yell for Granger, but just then she came out of her bedroom, obviously on her way to Hogsmeade. "Malfoy, I know this is a stupid question to ask you, but is this too much black?" She was wearing a white shirt and a black jacket over it, along with black jeans and white sneakers. Her hair was help up with a black velvet pony-tail-thingie (What, he couldn't remember what you called them!) and she had a (guess the color) black purse. She turned around a couple of times, like she was modeling the outfit. "Well?"

Draco just stared at her for a moment. He had to admit, she actually looked good. She was so much less...beaverish than she used to be. He wasn't kidding, he always thought she resembled one. But as if he was actually going to tell her that. "Way too much black Granger, you look like your going to a funeral."

She just grinned evilly. "And what do beavers have to do with funerals?"

Draco paled as he realized what as just happened. Damn. He had done it again. Again! He had spoken without noticing, just letting his thoughts become words before he could even process them.

Granger just laughed. "I don't really don't care what you think anyway. I like this outfit. Call me a beaver for all I care." Suddenly, she stopped and looked at the letter with interest. "What are you reading?" She started coming down the stairs.

"Oh right, look at this rubbish. When did we agree to this?" He held out the letter and she took it. After a minute, she looked up from the parchment to look at him.

"So? What does this-" He clamped his hand over her mouth unexpectedly.

"Don't you dare say, ' What does this have to do with me', because it was everything to do with you. Basically, what's it's saying is that unless I get you a birthday present, I can't be Head Boy. Besides, I don't remember signing to this!" He read the letter again, looking for some hidden writing.

Hermione got a horrible look on her face, then gulped. "Actually, we did sign to this." He looked at her like she was crazy. She nodded at started to explain, her anger growing as she went along. Then she began to freak out.

"Oh! And you said, ' Let's just sign it Hermione, nobody will ever, know, It'll be our secret.' I cannot believe what an idiot I am! To listen to you! Who knows what we could have signed to? Oh, god, what if I have to be your girlfriend or something? Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh-" Draco clamped his hand over her mouth again, and forcibly sat her down in the nearest chair.

"Calm down, Granger, now you're just being ridiculous! They may be our teachers, but they can't take away our free will! Now BREATH you stupid girl, you're going to pass out!" Hermione's mouth was gaping open and shut like a fish and she didn't seem to be breathing at all. Draco finally said something he knew would get her to take in a breath. "Anyway, I think you'd rather like being my girlfriend." She swung her arm to punch him, but he had been watching that time, catching her fist in mid-air.

"Stop it Granger. I only said it so you wouldn't suffocate. Not that I care." He added quickly. Draco pulled her up out of the chair. "Now go do whatever you do at Hogsmeade. I'm still looking for my money." He gave her a little shove towards the door.

Granger turned around and pointed to a bookshelf. "That wouldn't happen to be yours, would it?" When he saw what she was pointing to, he almost smacked himself. Sitting on the top shelf was his silver and green moneybag. It was loaded down, and had a note attached to it. So that's where he had put it.

She stood on tiptoe, and plucked it off the shelf, tossing it to him. "Here. Buy yourself something pretty." He again gave her confused look while she laughed. "It's just a dumb muggle saying Malfoy, don't freak out." Granger turned to leave again.

"Wait! What am I supposed to get you for your birthday?" he called after her. How was he supposed to know what Mudblood's liked?

"Just...get something." She answered vaguely, leaving him alone in the common room.

Great. Wasn't that just so helpful and specific. Who could he ask now?

_'Well, she likes books. And...no, that's pretty much it, books. So I guess I'll give her books.' He thought reasonably. ' And I'm going to Hogsmeade today, there is a huge bookshop, so problem solved.'_

Draco almost skipped out of the portrait hole, though it was strictly against Malfoy Law. Being a genius was sooooooo fun.

_One week later, September 19th_

Hermione ran down the stairs toward the Great Hall very happy. She had slept well, woken up at a time of her liking, and had even gotten a couple of birthday presents already. Not to mention having her birthday on a Saturday was the added bonus, her icing on the cake.

She sat down right in the middle of Harry and Ron upon arriving, who both gave her a kiss on the check, and yelled "Happy Birthday!" The two handed her their presents, which both were very strange shapes.

She opened Harry's first, and it was a large box of many different colors of ink along with a peacock feather quill. Hermione gave him a big hug, even though he had gotten her a peacock feather quill last year. Not that she had expected him to remember. Still, it was very thoughtful of him.

Hermione ripped the paper off Ron's present, which was a monstrous bag of Sugar Quills, and a book cover for her tattering copy of Hogwarts, A History. She hugged him as well, and thanked them both a few times. Ron suddenly remembered something, and pulled another gift out of his bag. "It's from Ginny. She told me to give it to you."

She read the note pinned to the gift, which read in Ginny's tiny handwriting:

_Hey 'Mione! Sorry I couldn't be there for your birthday, but the damage is still being taken care of. I can't believe that Colin Creevey! But the ears and tail barely show now, so I'll be out soon. _

Ears and tail? So it was worse than she thought.

_Anyway, here's your gift. From what Parvati and Lavender told me, I think you'll need it.  
_  
_**From what Parvati and Lavender told me**_?!? What was that supposed to mean? Hermione took off the paper carefully, and saw a big ' Magical Make Up' kit, complete with self-applying lipstick and talking mirror. She rolled her eyes. Oh. So that's what Ginny had meant.

"Ut oes Ermio-e need wif a make-uu set?" Ron asked, mouth full of food. She gave him an evil glare.

"Because, Ronald, I am a girl, and that is what girls do. We wear make-up. We breath make up. We live make up. I thought we had this talk back in fourth year."

Ron blushed and hastened to answer. "Sorry. Just wondering." She saw the look on his face, and patted him on the arm. "It's okay, Ron. I didn't have to go all evil on you either."

Harry just coughed and gave a false whine. "What about me? Maybe, you hurt my feelings too."

Hermione laughed and pinched his cheek. "Oh I'm sorry widdle Harry. Do you want a cookie?" Ron made gagging noises.

"Please you two, your going to make me throw up. Or should I say S.P.E.W.?" he said, giving a significant look to Hermione.

She punched him in the shoulder. "Oh, shut up. Just because that was my _one_ bad idea doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face like that."

"Actually, it does." Harry answered, agreeing with Ron. "You never let us forget anything we do wrong." He put on a high voice and started shrieking. "Harry, I can't believe that you gave Fred and George your Tri-Wizard winnings, did I mention I am yelling at you again about this even though it happened three years ago?"

Hermione pouted and punched him too. "Oh please, you make me sound like Pansy the Amazing Pug-Girl." As soon as she said this, she regretted it.

"Speaking of Slytherins..." Ron started, leaning in toward her. But she pointed a long nail at him warningly.

"Don't you start with 'Speaking of Slytherins'. I know what your getting at. What did I tell you?"

Ron sighed and recited from memory. "If Malfoy does something to you, you'll tell us and give me permission to kill him. I know. But still Hermione, are you sure he isn't bothering you? Because all it takes is for him to call you Mudblood once, and BAM!" he swung his fist through the air. "They'll need a new Head Boy by dinner time."

She just rolled her eyes. Then, turning to face Harry, she asked, " So what are we going to do today?"

At this comment, nobody at the table could hide their grins, and Hermione was pretty sure about what was going to happen.

Again, the lovely benefits of having your birthday on a Saturday.

Hermione got back to the Head Dorm when it was getting dark, arms full of presents and extra food from the party.

They had turned the entire Gryfinndor Common Room into a giant party. They had gotten food from the kitchens, made her a huge banner, and almost everyone had gotten her something. When she had asked them why they had thrown the party, everyone simply answered that how could they _not_; she was their Head Girl.

She felt something slip from her hands, and looked down to pick it up. Upon seeing it she laughed. It was her year subscription to The Quibbler, from (guess who?) Luna. Never, in a million years would she understand that girl.

"Granger, if you were the least bit smart, you would be levitating that stuff instead of weighing yourself down." drawled Malfoy from behind her. She gave a small yelp and everything fell from her hands, and clattered to the floor. Hermione felt herself turn red with anger as she started to gather it all up.

"Did you just listen to a thing I said? _Leviosa_." Malfoy started swishing his wand around and everything rose off the floor and floated into her bedroom, where she promptly heard it crash.

"Oooh, Malfoy, you little git..." her hands were at her side, in fists that she was tempted to use.

He held up his hand defensively. "Now Granger, let's not lose our temper. I don't want to ruin your birthday." But he was he was smirking with such evil delight that she could tell that is exactly what he was aiming to do.

"What are you planning to do Malfoy? _Hmm_? Flip your hair at me? Have your stupid owl attack me? I'm _so_ scared." Hermione answered sarcastically. Actually, she sort of was, but she would never admit that. He had succeeded in messing up her life for the past six years, what was going to stop him from making it seven?

He shook his head and feined an innocent look. "I already told you _Hermione_, I don't want to ruin your birthday." Malfoy grinned mischievously as he attempted to sit her down in a chair. "Now sit down, I'm sure your very tired." But she stood still, seeming to be stuck to her spot on the floor.

"Actually_ Draco_, why don't you sit down?" She grabbed his shoulders and forced him into the chair, which he stayed in, even when she stepped away and sat on the couch next to him.

They sat in silence. Suddenly, Malfoy spoke. "Try to get up." he said, barely able to hide his laughter.

Hermione did and she found she was stuck to the couch. Malfoy was laughing openly now, trying to speak, but not being able to.

She rolled her eyes at him. "That was a simple, petty trick, Malfoy." Hermione stepped out of her robe and adjusted her skirt. Then, muttering a charm, her robe flew into her hand, perfectly intact. The laughter had stopped.

"Wow, where'd you learn that one?" Hermione said, flashing him an over-done grin, "101 Ways to Look Like You Have No Life? Very original Malfoy, very original." It was her turn to laugh now.

"Did you happen to look in your room?" He asked, pointing up the stairs. "I think someone left something there for you."

By instinct, she dashed up to her room, and threw open the door. Everything was normal, except for the pile of food and presents lying just inside the door.

Then, she glanced on her bed to see a big rectangular box. Hermione went over and picked it up, and made her way back downstairs.

"What's this supposed to do Malfoy? Explode confetti in my face? That would be awful." She said to him, while taking off the layers of the brown paper. "I would never be able to-" Hermione stopped. Her eyes bugged out.

There in front of her, was brand new copies of her three favorite books. Hogwarts, A History, Sonnets of a Sorcerer (an unenchanted copy of course), and Guide to Advanced Transfiguration were there, the title letters winking at her in the common room's lighting.

"Who-no what-Where did this come from?" She sputtered, finally taking a breath and starting to blink again.

Malfoy was looking very confused as he stood up. "It's my gift." he said slowly, tempted to back away. "I had to get you something, remember? And you like books. So...I got you books." Why was she looking him like that?

"But...but this is amazing! This must have cost you a fortune!" she breathed, motioning to the stack.

He was still confused. "Actually, no, it didn't cost that much." He was planning to go up to his room, now that she had completely zoned out.

"I'm going to go, uh, up there." Hermione said pointing up the stairs. She started to dash up when she stopped and turned around to face him. "Malfoy, be a doll and hand me my books." Realizing what she said, Hermione blushed slightly, while he stared at her yet again confused.

But still, he picked up the stack and walked over to her. She took it and began to walk again. Suddenly, she ran back and gave him a light peck on the cheek, and was up in her room the next second.

Draco shook his head and blinked a few times. Was he imagining it, or did Hermione Granger, one of his worst enemies, really just kiss him?

' _Well, either way_,' he thought, going up to his bedroom. ' _She wasn't supposed to like it._'

123123123123123123123123123123

In a room, not to far away, a tall figure leaned over a large cauldron, whose image was just disappearing.

"Be a doll." he hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That's not such a bad idea..."

A/N: Well, I don't have anything to say, except REVIEW!


	9. Be a Doll

  
  
A/N: I am SO EXCITED about this chapter! You'll find out what happened to Draco, why this story is called 'Be a Doll' and see why Hermione will suffer! But your not going to see who the person with the cauldron was, though I think you can figure it out. I'm going to keep you suspense if you don't know who it is.

So, here's the Shout-Out:

**Juno's Mome Rath: **Okay, if anyone asks, I don't know you.

**iluvwriting: **Yes, she did. Go 'Mione!

**slytherinpunk:** Yup, but he SO did not expect that reaction!

**frifri: **Hmm, maybe your right, maybe your not...

**Karana Belle:** Yeah, but your going to have to wait a while, so take a guess, I bet you can figure it out if you read the last part _really carefully._

**Cassiel Oliviari:**Well, you'll see.

**Hermione-Granger-420: **Okey-dokey : )  
  
And the Chappie!  
  
**Be a Doll  
Chapter 9: Be a Doll** (Original, I know)  
  
Hermione had never liked Sundays. It was the day before everything started up again, so you basically had to do everything that you hadn't done Saturday. An essay, a potion, a translation. You always did these types of things the day before they were due, and 99.9% of the time that was a Sunday. Whoever had said that Sunday was a day of rest had never had homework.  
  
She woke up very early this morning, much unlike yesterday. She couldn't even hear the Ferret rummaging around in his bathroom yet. That was odd. He was always up long before her. Why wasn't he awake?  
  
Images of what happened the day before floated back to her, and she turned a bright red at the thought. ' _I don't care if he's not up, it isn't my problem._' She told herself, as she pulled on her clothes. Hermione didn't fell like bothering with her hair today, so she simply brushed it and left her room.  
  
She ran down the steps two at a time into the common room and skidded over the rugs to her desk. Thanks to the party yesterday she still had all her homework to get done, and it was all due tomorrow. Again, she hated Sundays.  
  
Hermione grabbed her bag and was about to go to the library when she felt a fluttering by her head. She turned to see and owl smaller than Pig twittering around her, holding a letter 5 times it size. She plucked it out of the air gently and set the owl on the desk. Hermione took the letter from it's beak that was stamped **URGENT** quite a few times.  
  
_To Miss Hermione Granger:  
  
As soon as you receive this letter, come to the Hospital Wing. We will explain upon your arrival.  
  
Signed,  
  
Albus Dumbledore  
  
Minerva McGonagal  
  
and Severus Snape  
_  
_Snape_?!? Why had Snape signed the letter?  
  
Suddenly, a horrible thought came to her. What if Malfoy had told them she had kissed him? Or almost broken his nose? Or slammed the door on him? She was being denounced of her Head Girl position! How could she have let this happen? Tears filled her eyes at this thought.  
  
Hermione shook her head. ' _NO! Your being an idiot Hermione. What would Snape have to do with this? And why would I have to go to the Hospital Wing? Malfoy probably just fell down the stairs and they want me to bring him flowers or something. See? No worries._'  
  
She set down her bag and picked up the owl still sitting on her desk. Hermione made her way towards the Hospital Wing, much more calm then a few minutes ago.  
  
If only she knew.  
  
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A few minutes later, Hermione was at the door of the Hospital Wing. She knocked and heard the door being unlocked. Madame Pomfrey opened the door just a crack and peeked out. "Oh it's you." She said, opening the door a little wider. "Well, quickly, come in here. Make sure no one sees you."  
  
' _Well, that was strange._' thought Hermione, as she followed Madame Pomfrey, absentmindedly stroking the owl, ' _Why have they locked the doors?_'  
  
She was being led into the secluded area, for most serious conditions. Malfoy was must have been hurt worse than she thought. Why else would they be all the way back here?  
  
They finally came to a heavy door, which Hermione was pushed through. Madame Pomfrey stayed outside the room, and locked the door after her.  
  
She turned away from the door and was facing 4 people. Dumbledore, McGonagal, Snape and a tall woman with white-blond hair. When she looked closely, she saw it was someone she had only seen once before, over 3 years ago. Narcissa Malfoy.  
  
Now she knew something was wrong. Parents never came to Hogwarts. Even when she had been petrified back in second year her parents hadn't come to the school. And she could be pretty confident that Malfoy wasn't dead.  
  
Right?  
  
"Miss Granger, I assume the owl reached you in time?" Dumbledore said, peering at her over his glasses. She nodded mutely and placed the tiny owl into his hand, without looking up. Both Snape and Mrs.Malfoy were glaring at her angrily, as if whatever happened to Malfoy was her fault.  
  
"Well, Mis-Hermione." said McGonagal, seeming to choose her words carefully. Something...very bad has happened to Mr.Malfoy, Draco as you call him." She knew very well that Hermione did not call him Draco. But Mrs.Malfoy looked so upset and angry that she said so anyway. "A very bad accident that we cannot explain. We have already tried curing him, but nothing seems to be working." At this, Mrs.Malfoy gave a small sob and Snape patted her hand gently.  
  
She was stunned. What could be so bad that he would have to be in the secluded area of the Hospital Wing, his mother had to come to school, and that Snape was being nice? Finally, she gathered up the courage to speak. "What happened to him? If you don't mind me asking." she added quickly, stealing a glance at "Draco's" mother.  
  
Dumbledore spoke. "Miss Granger, before we tell you, you must understand that this is very rare, extremely rare. It hasn't happened to many people. Out of those, all have been cured by a special spell, but it didn't work on Mr.Malfoy. Another thing you must understand is that you mustn't tell anyone, not even Mr.Potter and Mr.Weasley. A secret like this getting out would surely interfere with your studies as well as his."  
  
'_Wait, did he just say that meaning Malfoy's studies? He isn't still going to go to school is he?_' she thought, becoming very confused.  
  
"...and we know it might shock you at first. But we will show him to you, so you know his condition and can plan what you have to do." he continued. Hermione was worried at this. The last thing she wanted to see was Draco Malfoy with all his blood and guts spilling out. And why would she have to plan?  
  
Snape walked to the back of the room, and picked up a small wooden box off a table. He came back and handed it to McGonagal, who took it very cautiously, as if handling something fragile. She then lifted the lid very, very slowly...  
  
Hermione screamed.  
  
You would have too if you had just found out that your worst enemy was only 3 inches tall.  
  
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Malfoy, who had appeared to be sleeping before she screamed, jerked up suddenly. He glanced up at everything, including her, with a shocked expression on his small face.  
  
Hermione couldn't believe it. ' _No, it's not real. Nobody could become that tiny, even in the magical world. It simply isn't possible. There is no way that that could be Malfoy. This is just a horrible trick being played on me Yes a prank, an extremely stupid, unfunny prank_.'  
  
But truthfully, she knew that it was real. By some strange phenomena, Malfoy had become 3 inches tall, and nobody had been able to fix it. As Dumbledore said, it was rare, but it did happen to a few people. Then again, she wanted proof.  
  
"Prove that your Malfoy." Hermione said suddenly, before she could even realize what she was doing. "I want proof." The room was silent, as he started to talk.  
  
"For your birthday, I got you Hogwarts, A History, Sonnets of a Sorcerer, and Guide to Advanced Transfiguration. You were so happy that you-" she cut him off there, as she turned red again.  
  
"Okay, I believe you, your really Malfoy." That boy had some nerve. He had just shrunken to the size of a highly squishable bug, and yet he was still planning to ruin her life. She was also surprised at the sound of his voice. Hermione had suspected that it would be high and squeaky, but it was still rather deep, just smaller. If it was louder and bigger, he would sound like he always did.  
  
She felt McGonagal hand her the open box. Hermione looked up at her in surprise then to everyone else. "Why are you giving him to me?" She asked.  
  
McGonagal looked at confused as she did. "Your in charge of him. You signed to it in the Head Code." At the same time both screamed "WHAT?!?"  
  
"Both of you, quiet!" Dumbledore said, harshly, a tone Hermione had never heard him use before. They did, and he went on normally. "You must remember. It was only 20 days ago. In the Head Code, it specifically reads that under the circumstance that either one of you are unable to take care of yourselves, by injury, that the your in your fellow Head's care."  
  
"Yes. I would like Draco to stay at school and learn what he needs, even if he does have to be under the care of this...girl." said a teary voice. Everyone turned to see it that it was Narcissa. "I would rather him be here learning in his state, then at home, doing nothing. This is Draco's last year at school, and I want him to make the best of it."  
  
The room was silent.  
  
A wave of guilt suddenly washed over Hermione. It was her own fault that she didn't read the Head Code, so she should have to suffer the consequences. Even if it meant she was actually going to suffer.  
  
"I'll take him."  
  
Dumbledore smiled slightly, and began to explain. "You'll take Mr.Malfoy to classes with you, in your bag or in your pocket, anywhere where he can see. The teachers will be informed about his condition, but you must keep it an absolute secret from the students. Hide him well."  
  
"He will also have to sleep in your room. We are really very sorry about this, but he cannot get around by himself. Shrink his bed and wardrobe, and anything else he may need. We can't shrink this wand though, so any magic for Mr.Malfoy will be out of the question."  
  
Hermione heard a whimper from inside the box at the statement 'no magic.' Ha, so he was rather bad off as well. Then again, so was she. She did NOT want to share a room with Draco Malfoy, no matter how small he was.  
  
After a bit more explanation of what she was supposed to do, Hermione left the room, holding the box close to her chest. She didn't like the stupid git, but she want to be responsible for his death. They all knew that she was in charge of him, so anything goes wrong with Malfoy, it's her fault.  
  
She walked out of the Hospital Wing, and crept through the halls, being careful not to be seen by anyone. It was still quite early in the morning though, so she only passed the occasional student on their way to breakfast.  
  
"Hermione!" yelled two voices. She whirled around to see Harry and Ron running at her and waving their arms around wildly. She clutched the box tighter. ' _Oh please, not now..._'  
  
They stopped when they were right in front of her, and she started walking with them to the Great Hall. ' _Good, they haven't noticed the box yet..._'  
  
"What's in the box 'Mione?" Ron asked suddenly, reaching for it. She slapped his hand, and he drew back. "What? I only wanted to know what was in it!" he said, rubbinng his hand.  
  
Harry peered at the box curiously as well. "Yeah, Hermione what's in it?"  
  
"Candy." she answered, saying the first thing that came to mind. "For, uh...Malfoy."  
  
The boys stopped and looked at her demandingly. "And why," Ron said venomously "Are bringing candy to that Ferret?" Oh no. She shouldn't have said that.  
  
Hermione laughed nervously. "Did I say candy? I meant, um...actually, yes candy. Cockroach Clusters. I'm going to leave them in his bed." She gave an almost real sounding laugh. "Isn't that a great idea? He'll be disgusted."  
  
Both the boys chuckled. "Great prank." Harry commented, as they proceded walking. "C'mon let's go to breakfast, I'm starved."  
  
She couldn't go to breakfast yet! "I'll meet you two there. I have to go back to my dorm. To do my hair."  
  
Ron gave her a sideways glance. "Looks fine to me." He lifted a strand with his fingers.  
  
"It's not. It's horrible. I have to go put it up. Right now. I'll see you later." With that, she ran off towards the Head dorm, not looking back at the confused boys.  
  
"Is it just me, or is she acting weird?" Ron questioned Harry.  
  
"Maybe it's a girl thing?" Harry suggested, shrugging. "Anyway, let's go. I wasn't kidding about being starved."  
  
In less then a few minutes, the two had completely forgotten about Hermione and her strange box.  
  
Thanks goodness for short attention span.  
  
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Hermione was sitting in her bathroom on the counter, holding the box Malfoy was in. She was thinking about her close call just then, and how she would have to be a lot more careful.  
  
Out of nowhere, a tiny voice murmured something. For a moment Hermione wondered if she was going crazy, until she remembered what was in the box. She opened the lid and Malfoy repeated what he had said. "Are they always so nosy? What's it to them if you have a box?"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Malfoy, it's perfectly normal to carry around a wooden box at all times."  
  
He covered his ears and gritted his teeth. "Bloody hell woman, not so loud. Your going to pop my eardrum." She then slammed the lid shut and slid the box dangerously close to the edge of the counter.  
  
"I suggest you shut up Malfoy, you're under my control now." she warned, though she would never actually push it over the edge. "All it'll take is one little movement and...spalt, no more Malfoy." Then, just to scare him, Hermione tapped the box even closer. Right when it was about to fall, she picked up the whole thing, and could hear him screaming hysterically.  
  
"Your really fun to toy with, _Draco_." Hermione said, opening the lid and looking down at him. He just glared and retorted, "Many people could make that sound very wrong, Granger."  
  
She scowled. "Don't put words into my mouth. You know very well what I mean. Now behave, or I might 'accidentally' forget to feed you." She hopped off the counter, and went into her bedroom. "How will this work, anyway?" she asked herself aloud.  
  
Then to him, she said. "Will you be okay in my pocket?" She was slightly worried that he would get banged around too much. Though she didn't especially care.  
  
To this he replied. "I don't know. I've never been in your pocket before."  
  
Hermione sighed. "Would you cut it out? I need to get you down to breakfast without killing you or carrying you in a box." She plucked him out of the box and placed him in her pocket carefully.  
  
He started fussing immediately. "God Granger, what are your robes made out of? They're so rough. Mind are made of..."  
  
"...the finest silk. I know. Heard it too many times Ferret. Now hold still, I'm going to try and walk." She strolled back and forth across her room a couple of times, before looking down at him and asking. "You okay?"  
  
He seemed a little dizzy. "Can't you be a little more graceful? I kept hitting my head on your stupid leg."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry about my 'stupid leg' but I kind of _need _it to _walk_." she snapped. This was going to take a bit longer than she thought.  
  
What had Dumbledore been thinking, leaving this terror to her?  
  
A/N: Well, tell me what you think IN THE REVIEW YOU ARE ABOUT TO WRITE. Okay?  
  
Sacagawea


	10. Ah, the Anger

A/N: Did I surprise you guys with the last chapter? That was supposed to be a total shock, even though most of you were probably starting to figure it out...anyway, I'm here with chapter 10. And some news. Since I'm moving, for the next month or so, I'm not going to have acess to the internet all the time. My updates will be less frequent, only about once a week, but don't worry; I won't quit on you.

Shout-out!:

**Frifri:**Yay! My fic rocks! Yeah, this update is a little later then the last one.

**iluvwriting:** Not exactly...

**slytherinpunk:**Yeah, it does, but I assure you, I'll make it work.

**Exploded toilet bowl:**Updating!

**Mikasa Wormhole: **No, but re-read the end of chapter 8 and you can probably figure it out!

**Karana Belle: **This is only a bit more of the rest of the day, but the next chappie will have more! Thanks for lovin' the chapter, it appreciates it. ( Chapter 9 smiles)

**Sentra: **I'm original! I feel good now.

**Hermy:**Update is on the late side of soon...

Here's Chapter 10!

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 10: Ah, the Anger...**

" If you don't shut up, I'm going to start jumping around." Hermione hissed, as she made her way down the hall, Draco jabbering away about her clumines in her pocket. It was more than a half an hour later, and they were still trying to get used to this new way of getting around. After a while, he had stopped complaining so much, even without her completely changing her way of walking. This was may have been because she shut him back up in the box, and threatened to have Hedwig eat him. For some 'strange' reason , this got him to behave a little better.

" I'll do what I want, when I want, Granger I do not have to do everything you say." he answered, sticking his tongue out at her childishly.

" Sorry to break it to you Malfoy, but you do. I'm almost positive a fall from this high would be enough to kill you." At this, he ducked back down into her pocket, grumbling about 'stupid Mudbloods'.

Hermione was finally in the Great Hall, where she sat down next to Ron. Harry was sitting diagonally from her, and both were eating like mad.

" Haven't you two been here for a while? I thought you'd be done by now." she said, watching them for a moment. Hemione felt Malfoy moving around in her pocket, sticking his head out a little to be able to see.

The boys didn't answer her. Their faces seemed glued to the plate. '_ Oh great._' she thought, rolling her eyes a bit, ' _Time to bring out the attention getter._'

Hemione waved her hand in front of Ron's face. "I need to tell you something!" she started, making her voice almost frantic. "I can deny no longer. I am madly in love with Draco Malfoy. He is so sexy, with his silky blond hair and pale gray eyes..."

Harry and Ron stopped in mid-bite, and slowly turned to her. "I think I'm going to be sick." Harry said, turning slightly green.

Ron just nodded.

Hermione looked at them strangely. "I was only joking." She explained, leaning back away from them. She didn't want vomit all over her clothes.

" But you called him sexy." Ron spat, looking a little green as well. "That's just, just disgusting. It's wrong. I think I'm goint to throw up. Really."

She sighed. "Again, I WAS JUST JOK-ING. UN-DER-STAND?" She said loudly and clearly. "What else can I do if your not paying attention?"

Harry shook his head suddenly. "Yes, we're sorry Hermione, we should have been listening to you. Just...don't do that ever again. Now, what were you saying?"

" Oh, never mind!" She exclaimed, turning to her pancakes, drowning them with syrup. "Sometimes, I really just don't believe you, you say I need a sense of humor..." she trailed off, as she realized they weren't listening again. Instead, they were staring in awe at the Slytherin table. God, what did she have to do to get these idiots to pay attention?

" Look." Ron breathed, pointing across the room.

Hermione did, and saw what he was pointing at.

Crabbe and Goyle were sitting on either of an empty seat. They both were confused, scanning the Hall for Malfoy.

Not that they would ever find him. Because who would ever look in Hermione's pocket?

" Malfoy's gone!" Ron shouted joyfully, jumping in his seat. " I've been waiting for this day my entire life!"

" Do you know where he is Hemione?" Harry asked, turing to her in interest.

She was stunned. What the heck was she supposed to say?

Suddenly, she felt a tiny fist hit her in the hip, and an equally small leg kick her thigh. She gripped her pocket, squeezing it's inhabitants until they squeaked.

" That's, because, uh...he left. Yes, that's it, he left. He left, but he'll be back. I don't know when. But he will be. I hope." These words came tumbling from her mouth, and she was yet again regretting them all too quickly.

" Why do you hope he'll be back Hermione?" Ron questioned icily, all joy forgotten. "First the candy, now this. What's going on?"

" Ron, in case you forgot, those were Cockroach Clusters. For a prank. And the only reason, I'll hope he'll be back is becasue otherwise, I'll have to...to do patrol duty by myself!" she finished, coming up with the most reasonable sounding lie she could think of. "And Ron, how many times do I have to tell you, I am old enough to take care of myself. I don't need you hounding me every second of my life!"

He turned crimson at her words. "Sorry, Hemione it's just that.."

" I know. You don't want me or Harry to ever get hurt. You mean a lot to me too Ron. But still, we've all been through so much, I think I can take care of a lousy Ferret."

He smiled, and they all went back to their food. Hemione was distracted for a while, until there was a pinching at her side, and a quiet. " I'm hungry!" heard.

As sneakily as she could, she picked up a pancake, a piece of bacon, and some bread, and wrapped it all up in a napkin. She thought about taking a goblet of orange juice, but decided it would be too risky, and just stuffed the napkin in the pocket that Malfoy wasn't in.

" Hemione, what are you doing?" a voice asked her. She turned and saw Neville standing over her, a confused look on his face. "Why are you taking all that food? You just ate."

She was really starting to lose it. Any second now, she was just going to end up telling the whole school that she had the 3-inch tall Head Boy in her pocket. This was just too much. Who knew how long she'd have to go through this just to feed Malfoy?

But then, she had the most fabulous idea. Actually, it was just another great sounding lie. She motioned for Neville to come closer, and in his ear, she whispered, "Well, you know how Ginny's in the Hospital Wing?" he nodded and she continued. "I have special visiting privleges, and I go to see her everyday. And because of her condition," She said, drawing out the word. "They won't let her eat pancakes or bacon, and she just adores them. So I sneak it to her every once in a while." Hermione paused for dramatic effect. " You won't tell anyone, will you? I'm only doing it for Ginny."

Neville got back up and shook his head. "Oh, no, of course not Hermione, I wouldn't want you or Ginny to get in trouble."

She smiled warmly, as she got up from her seat to leave. "Thanks."

Hemione had almost left the table when she heard Harry say something. " Didn't you say you went to you room to put your hair up? It's not up."

" Of course it is." she responded, before running out before anyone else could start questioning her.

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Hermione flopped down on her bed face first, ignoring the screams of pain coming from her pocket. That had been hard. She was pretty sure that just this morning she had lied more than she had her whole life. And doing that didn't exactly come easily.

From next to her ear, Malfoy yelled. "Get up! Why did you do that? I could have been killed!"

She moved onto her side so she could face him, her head still resting on her arm. "I remember quite clearly that you said the the exact same thing when I just slammed a door on you. Now, how are you more likely to die? By (A) getting squashed by a door, of (B) getting squashed by me?"

He stared at her blankely. "I don't know. Which weighs more?"

She sighed tiredly. "Me, probably, but as if I'd tell you my weight."

Malfoy was now sitting on her arm, which was right by her head. "Why not? I know a lot of stuff about you anyway. What's one more thing going to hurt?"

" Please," Hermione scoffed, "You know nothing about me."

" Sure I do. I know what you look like." She looked at him unimpressed. "No really, I could make such a good desription of you that someone who never even saw you could picture you."

" Okay then, _Draco_. Give me a desription." He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "No, do it with your eyes closed. I want to see if you remember me." Malfoy made a face, but closed his eyes anyway.

" How could I forget you anyway, dearest _Hermione_? You are THE Mudblood."

" I even have a title? I'm honored your Royal Pratness." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

" Your Royal _Sexy_ Pratness." He corrected. She could just hear the smirk in his tone.

Hemione scowled. "Oh, come on. Like I told those two idiots, I only said it to get their attention. I have to do it all the time."

" So you call me sexy on a daily basis."

She drove her nail into his stomach and heard a satisfying yelp. "Shut up, and get on with your crummy desription."

Malfoy started, rather reluctantly at first. "Fine. Let's start with you Know-It-All head. You have a large, frizzy bush of...caramel colored hair."

'_Caramel colored? What's wrong with him?_' her mind screamed.

" And you have crème colored skin, that looks almost as white as mine."

' _CRÈME_?'

" Your eyes are a choclatey brown, the French kind, not that other one, it's way to lumpy."

She almost started to laugh when she realized what was going on.

" Malfoy?"

" Mm-hm?"

" Are you...hungry?"

One eye popped open. He was sitting in the crook of her arm now. "Is it that obvious?"

Hermione tried to laugh, but it came out a yawn. She hadn't noticed how tired she was. "Your desribing me like a dessert instead of a girl."

" Well, that will happen to you if you haven't eaten breakfast and it's already 10 in the morning."

She pointed to her pocket. "There's food in there. Some bacon, a pancake, and a piece of bread." She yawned again.

" I don't like bacon." Malfoy replied sleepily, curling up into her arm.

" I'm sorry I've angered Malfoy, The All Mighty."

" That's okay." She heard him drop off to sleep.

Soon after, Hermione let sleep take over her as well, and she snuggled into the warm blankets and was out.

So they layed there, Draco curled up in her arm, and Hermione curled up around him.

It would have even been cute if they didn't hate each other.

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She was awaken by someone prodding her in the stomach sharply.

" Granger. Wake up."

Well, now the question of who the someone was was answered. Hermione's eyes fluttered open and she looked around the room. Finally, her gaze rested on the small boy eating a pancake. Malfoy sat on her stomach while nibbling away at the giant breakfast food.

She sat up on her elbows, staring at him sleepily. "What are you doing?"

" Ethin'" he answered, matter-of-factly, mouth full of food. Malfoy swallowed and looked down at the pancake. "This is cold." He complained, frowning at it.

" Well you should have eaten it before, when I told you too." She sat all the way up, causing him to tumble ungracefully into her lap.

" Watch it." He dusted himself off and snatched up the pancake again. "All I'm saying is that it still would be warm if someone hadn't been sleeping. Then maybe she could have given it to me."

Hermione gave him a hard shove that sent him flying. "May I remind you who fell asleep first?"

" Yeah, but I woke up 15 minutes ago. You sleep like a rock woman."

And for this, she had no excuse. Because she knew very well that it was true. The only reason she was able to get up in the morning was because she had charmed an alarm clock to work inside the castle. So she said nothing.

At her silence, Malfoy cheered and gave her a smug grin. "Granger is losing her greatness I see. And blah, blah, blah..."

She had stopped listening after the first sentence, so in her mind, he really was blah-ing.

Hermione put her head in her hands, and squeezed her eyes shut. When was this all going to stop? When was she going to wake up from this horrible nightmare? She had only been taking care of the shrunken ferret for 5 hours and she was already a wreck. There were just too many unanswered questions. Who knew how long he would be like this? What if she was forever taking care of a doll-sized Malfoy?

Without warning, a single tear fell from her eyes. It barely missed Malfoy, landing in a spot in the mattress right next to him.

Hermione knew he had felt it hit when he looked up at her in surprise. " What was that?"

" N-nothing." She stuttered, looking away while brushing a hand across her eyes. Never let the enemy see weakness.

She turned back in time to see a look of concern flash over his face, but it was soon gone. Still, it was an almost comforting thought that he could care about someone other than himself.

Malfoy leaned against her knee, most of the pancake still spread out over him. "I'm tired." He commented, obviously trying to change the subject.

" Me too." She fell back onto the bed again. "I don't want to go to classes tomorrow."

" We don't have too."

She sprung up and snatched him off the blanket. "What do you mean ' we don't have too'?" she asked demandingly.

" First let go of me." He squeaked, squirming in her death grip. Hermione set him down. "Thank you. Anyway, about classes. Really Dum-bledore said that we could take the day off if we wanted too." He turned, just to her reaction the name. "Weren't you listening?"

" No, I wasn't, I was trying to get over the shock that you were only 3 inches tall!" She huffed angrily.

Malfoy smirked. "Oh really? So I was right. You _are_ losing your greatness."

" Well, I'm not perfect you know!" she yelled, tossing her hands in the air.

He feigned a hurt look. "Your not? Oh, Longbottom will be devasted. And what will you parents think? The teachers? This'll make headline news at the Prophet. ' Hermione Granger, Not Perfect.'" He started to laugh cruely.

Hermione had to urge to pop his head off. But she didn't want to get too violent. So instead, she flicked him in the chest. "Shut up, you bloody idiot, before I do worse."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows, still smirking. "Bloody? Is that your first curse word Granger?" he wagged his finger at her almost sarcastically. "Tsk,tsk. Your so _bad _Hermione and over here I was thinking your such a goody-two-shoes."

Okay, that was it. You can call Hermione Granger a know-it-all. You could even call her a teacher's pet and get away with it. But you did not call her a GOODY-TWO-SHOES!!!

Her fist closed around him dangerously tight, nails digging into his robes. She hoped that he would get hurt.

" Listen you!" Hermione bellowed, bringing Malfoy just inches from her face. "I _can_not and I _will_ not deal with you any longer! Just stop it! Can't you do anything except insult me?!?" Tears of boiling hot hatred filled her eyes, but she wouldn't allow them to spill out. "Well CAN YOU? I don't even know what I did you make you hate me!!! I didn't do anything to deserve you torturing me day in and day out!"

She stopped herself from ripping him to shreds by throwing him into her open pocket. She grabbed up her books, rubbed her eyes hastily and started to walk down the stairs. "We're going to the library." Hermione said in a no-nonsense tone.

Apparently, he hadn't completely gotten the message. "What if I don't want to?" he said almost daringly.

" Well that's-that's just too bad." She responded, holding back her raging temper. "Your going."

" I thought my mother left this morning."

Could that boy ever shut up? She decided to let a little of the anger seep through. Hermione whipped out her wand and pointed it at him. " Silencio."

She soon felt little fists banging on her hip, but heard nothing.

At this, she smiled.

Sweet, sweet silence.

A/N: Sorry, if that was a little slow. And sorry I haven't updated in so long. Won't happen again people, won't happen again.

Next Chapter: Draco's Pov! Yay!

Bye-bye,

Sacagawea


	11. The Adventures of Pocket Boy!

A/N: I'm FINALLY BACK!!! You will not believe how happy I am to finally get this posted! I have been on the road since Monday going across country, and I had to spend so much time in the car, I even have some of Chapter 12 written! I just got to my new house today, and uploaded as soon as I got here. Sorry about the long wait reviewers, but my mom had to go and be stupid and say I couldn't connect the lap top to the phone line in the hotel. Grr. Anywho, I hope that the chapter's longness sorta makes up for it.

So, I will just go the Shout-Out now:

**iluvwriting**: Thanks, I hoped people would like that!

**Frifri:** Finally updated! And GOOOO PERKY!!! my fic feels loved.

**slytherinpunk**: Yes, she is sooooooooo dramatic, and that is mentioned in this chapter! I'd go off the computer for Draco too.

**Dracandherms35**: Yay! I got an awesome!

**Karana Belle**: Yes, Little Draco would be adorable! If you liked the last one, you'll LUV this chappie!

**Exploded toilet bowl**: Thanks and will do!

**Cassiel Oliviari**: Who doesn't?

**MeLiO**: Yay again! my fic was funny!

**Sentra**: They're both gonna need a lot of luck to get through this...

**Ptrst:** Well, almost endless...

**kkjade**: You did? Cool!

Anywho, here is chapter 11!

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 11: The Adventures of...Pocket Boy!**

Draco was deep, deep in Granger's pocket, grumbling to himself. God, he had only said one little thing, she didn't have to go and silence him! Not only did that girl have a bad temper, but she was good at spells as well. A very dangerous combination.

He suddenly was being bounced up and down very roughly. Draco clung to a bunch of material for dear life. Why couldn't she take his advice? He hadn't been kidding when he said to walk more gracefully. Granger couldn't be beautiful even if she tried, and it was obviously not on the top of her priorities list. Then, again, there had been the Yule Ball...

'_NO!_' another part of his brain said. '_She did NOT look nice then. How would you know anyway? You were just standing at a table-_'

'**Trying to take your eyes off of her ravishing beauty. Her amber locks, framing her angelic face...**'

'_Wait, who the hell are you?_' Draco's sane self yelled mentally.

'**Why, I'm your romantic side**.' It responded.

'_Thought I got rid of you ages ago._' He pictured a rather large, gory explosion as his romantic side was smashed to smithereens. It was quite entertaining. It wasn't until a couple of minutes later that he realized that he had just carried a steady conversation with himself. He shuddered. Strange things a silencing charm could do to you, strange things.

Granger broke out into a sprint just then. Finding no where to hold on to, Draco stayed up against the pocket by her leg. Well, he'd give her one thing, she could sure run fast. Then, she came to a sudden halt, and his stomach lurched. She was now talking to some other girls. Draco climbed up the wall of fabric to see who it was.

Oh great, it was those two Gryffindors, Lucy and Patty, or something like that. How long was she going to talk? He finally decided that since he was here, he might as well invade her privacy.

"Ginny will be out tomorrow?" Granger said resting, her books on her hip.

"Yeah, and then we can have the sleepover!" Penny said excitedly. "When do you want it?" Sleep over? This could get interesting.

"When?" Granger asked with a nervous laugh. "Oh, I don't know you guys, I have a lot of work..." Her hand absentmindedly brushed the pocket he was in, almost knocking him off his perch. He made a mental note to complain about that later.

"But Hermione, you promised!" exclaimed Lilly. "And we all really want you to come."

She just stood there for a moment, chewing her bottom lip. "Fine." She said after a while. "Where and when?"

"Well, we'll decide the when as soon as Ginny gets back. But we'll have it in..." Laurie looked around and then whispered something in Granger's ear.

She nodded, said a few other things, and began to walk again. He wondered what that had all been about. He would probably find out soon enough though. She couldn't go anywhere without him. Yet another good thing about being tiny.

Draco could tell when she was out of sight of the two other girls. She turned a corner and slid down a wall onto the floor. She took him out of her pocket, holding him almost gently in her hands as her head fell back against the wall and her eyes closed.

"Why are you making this so hard?" she asked to no one in particular. He looked up at her. On her face was an expression of almost tired calmness, that made her look-

' **Like a gem, being hit by the sun just right, her beauty reflecting off everything in her path...**'

'_What beauty? Hermione Granger, a gem? Ha! I beat you again, Romantic Side...WAIT! Haven't you been exploded?!?_'

'**Well, that's a funny story. It started when...**'

His mixed thoughts were interrupted by loud talking of two boys, both which sounded very familiar. She suddenly sprang back to life, sliding him into her pocket and standing up quickly.

"Harry, Ron!" Draco heard Granger say, a little too brightly. "What are you doing here?"

"We're going to practice Quidditch." Potter said, in his little I'm-so-wonderful-and-alive-won't-you-bow-down-to-me voice "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the library." That was probably the only truthful thing she'd said all day.

"What are you going to _do _in the library?" Weasley asked suspiciously.

"I'm going to READ. That's what the library is for Ron." She answered, sounding tempted to laugh out loud.

Draco wished he could see Weasley's face right then.

After that, there was nothing worth listening to, so he just went back down into his pocket. Once no more footfalls were heard, she started to mutter to herself, and was walking again.

"Well, that was close, wasn't it?" she said conversationally, not really paying attention. When he didn't answer though, she looked down at him strangely, as if he might be sick because he wasn't saying anything.

He pointed to his throat.

"Oh right. I think you've suffered enough." She pulled out her wand and undid the charm, now waiting for a response.

He just ignored the old question. "Why is Weasley so nosy? What's it to him if you go to the library?" He regretted saying this quickly though, and hoped it wouldn't get him silenced again.

Surprisingly, it didn't anger her at all. Instead, she just shrugged. "He thinks I'm his little sister, I guess, because he does the same thing to Ginny. Ron thinks he constantly has to hound me to keep me safe. Not that I need it."

"Oh.", was all he said in response.

"Well, if that all I guess I can put the silencing charm back on you." Draco ducked back into the pocket and Granger laughed. "I was only joking." She said, opening a door. He realized they were finally at the library.

It felt different in the library, much more relaxing. Apparently not that many people were interested in studying. The entire place only had one or two people reading which was quite unusual for Sunday.

Granger went over to the very back, almost in the restricted area. She found a table which was partially hidden by a bookcase. Then, she took him out of her pocket and set him on the table. "Now be quiet, people will think I'm crazy if it looks like I'm talking to no one." She warned, opening one of her books.

"What makes you think I'm going to talk to you?" Draco sneered.

"It's impossible not to talk to you Malfoy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

In response, she merely sighed.

"Answer me when I talk to you Granger." He ordered impatiently.

"See your doing it already." She said, eyes sparkling for some reason.

"What? What am I doing?" asked an exasperated Draco. Exactly _what_ was she getting at?

"Making me talk to you. You're _desperate_ for conversation." She grinned evilly at him. Her book was closed now, her head resting in her hands, just looking at him with that LOOK.

"I am not. And I do not make people talk to me." He argued, making a face at her.

"Oh please." She scoffed, "'Answer me when I talk to you Granger.' You beg."

"I don't talk like that." He said, complaining about the imitation of his voice.

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not.'

"Too."

"Not!!!"

A shrill voice came out of no where. "Miss Granger, I don't know who you're talking to, but you're getting to loud!" The librarian was yelling all the way over from the desk.

"Yes Madam Pince." Granger muttered. Turning to him, the mutter became a hiss. "I told you to stay quiet!"

Draco shrugged and echoed her evil grin. "I'm not Miss Granger. It isn't my problem if you talk too loudly in the library."

"Ugh, you are such an arrogant little prat." She said, sounding disgusted.

"Love you too, Hermione."

"Feelings mutual Draco dear." Another comment said a little too brightly. Granger then was silent, staring straight ahead as if in a trance. Then, she jumped out of her chair and began to pick up her things.

"What are you doing?" He shouted, pulling on the arm of her robe. "It took us 20 minutes just to get here! And I don't want to go back into the halls, its cold!"

"Well, put on a jacket. Besides, we're only going back to the common room." She plucked him off the table and into her pocket. "I can't focus in here. And I can't yell at you either. So we're going. Stop being so melodramatic."

"I'm not being melodramatic," Draco said, frowning, "You're the dramatic one, to start crying like that."

She waited until they were out of the library to answer.

"I wasn't crying," Granger said sternly, "I had just woken up. My eyes were glossed over."

"You're lying." He sang in a teasing voice.

She stopped and put a hand on her hip.

"What makes you think I'm lying? What do you know?" She began to walk again.

"Like I said before, I know you Granger." When he saw her roll her eyes he went on. "When you like, you become nervous, and/or tense up. And right now, you are extremely tense. But, the #1 way to tell that you're not telling the truth is......You don't blink."

Draco could tell she was shocked, because she knew very well that it was all true. Yet she still bothered struggling to keep her dignity.

"Prove it," was her only reply.

Draco rolled his eyes at her utter stupidity. Why did he bother? Oh yeah, because he was 3 inches tall. He might as well have a little fun since he was going to be stuck in Granger's pocket for possibly eternities, if not months upon end. And she looked nervous. Perfect. Torment was his middle name. Draco Torment Malfoy. Actually that had a ring to it...

"I will. Go into that classroom." he instructed, pointing a small finger around the corner.

She looked around to make sure no one else was there and ducked inside the room. Taking out her wand, she locked the door and lit a few candles. She opened her pocket next to the table and Draco jumped out.

Granger turned to him, trying to look bored, but not succeeding at all. Quite on the contrary actually. "What little test are you going to do Malfoy? I assure you, there is no need, because that is not what I do when I lie." She of course said this without blinking in a very up-tight voice.

He ran a hand through his hair as he spoke. "Of course it isn't. Shut up and get down where I can see you." This got him poked in the chest, but she knelt on the floor so that she was level with his eyes. "Good. Now just tell me a string of lies. Anything, just lie. But put a few truths in there and I'll tell you when you blink."

"You know Malfoy, this is kind of-"

"Do it already." He interrupted.

She stuck her tongue out at him, but began. "Ron is smart, your hair is pink, magic's fake, concrete is soft, Hogwarts is small, my parents are dentists-"

"Blinked." He said. "Is that true?"

A sort of pained look was on her face. "Yes."

Draco smirked. "Go again."

Granger started up again. "Centaurs are straight-forward, chocolate frogs are real frogs, house-elves have rights," She threw him a dirty look at this one. But really, was it a crime to own a house-elf or seven? "...my wand has unicorn hair, I'm horrible at flying," She blinked.

He started to laugh loudly. "You can't fly a broom Granger? With those two Quidditch maniacs buzzing around you, I was sure you would!" He was still laughing. "Don't they make fun of you?"

"Actually, they don't know."

He stopped abruptly. "What?"

"They don't know that I can't fly, okay? If you must know, I almost didn't pass that class in first year! I don't tell them everything." She snapped huffily.

The room was silent.

"As a matter of fact, nobody knows. Except you." She mused to herself. "You better keep your mouth shut about it too." She continued, her tone becoming sharp.

"Really Granger, who am I supposed to tell?" he drawled.

"Are you done with your test?" she asked breezily, ignoring the bit of sarcasm.

Draco shook his head. "Just one more, and if you blink at the truth you have to declare me right."

She sighed. "Fair enough. Now let's think, lies...okay, you're not 3 inches tall, Harry owns a dragon, I'm beautiful..." At this she didn't blink. Wow, talk about low self-esteem. He didn't think any girl would ever say she wasn't nice looking, but Granger had just proved him wrong. "...there is a book on love potions in my room, I sing pretty well-"

And to his great surprise then she blinked. "You can sing?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I'm okay."

Well, that was unexpected. She struck him as the type of person who could do everything except sing, and would never admit it. He was like that except that it wasn't that he couldn't sing it was-well, something else. "Sing then." He challenged, even though he knew she wouldn't.

"No way." She answered, getting snappy again. "Give you another reason to make fun me willingly? Yeah, right. But I will admit, I do not blink when I lie. Happy now Ferret?

He grinned. Victory was sweet. "More than you will ever know."

Granger shook her head and gave an almost-laugh. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: You never cease to amaze me Draco Malfoy. Never."

And that didn't even sound like an insult, so he decided to leave it at that.

Once back in the common room, Draco could tell that this girl was going to do some serious studying.

Without a single word, she spread out all her books and rolls of parchment, opened a fresh bottle of black ink, threw off her robe so she was only in uniform, and sat down at her desk. Then, looking like she remembered something, jumped back up. Granger took him out of her pocket and set him on the desk as well.

"Sit there and be quiet. I have mountains of work to do, and don't want to have to finish it all tomorrow." She said this all too seriously, so he decided he wouldn't bother her. Who knew what she'd do to him this time?

She opened a drawer and pulled a Sugar Quill out of a large bag. "Want one?" She offered. He took it gladly, as she obviously had no intentions of going to lunch. The pancake was already starting to wear off.

Before starting though, she did one last thing. Taking out her wand, she conjured up a bottle of...butterbeer. He was shocked. Where did she learn to do that? His throat felt dry as he watched her take a sip of the warm, fizzy drink. Draco prodded her in the arm and looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. She gave in surprisingly quick, making two bottles for him and shrinking them.

And then she took a deep breath and turned to her work.

For the next what seemed like hours, the only sound heard was that of a quill scratching on parchment. Draco sipped his butterbeer and nibbled the Sugar Quill, just watching her, fascinated at how long she could work without getting distracted or bored. She practically flew through everything.

Never in a million years could he do that. He remembered what she had said earlier, and found he could say the same for her. Hermione Granger never ceased to amaze him.

He was taken out of his own thoughts when he noticed something was different. Ah, that was it, the quill had had finally stopped scratching. He looked up to see Granger standing up, stretching. She glanced casually at the clock. "Well, that didn't take too long, did it?"

When he saw the time, he choked. 6:30. He had been sitting there, staring at her for 5 HOURS! Time flies when you're doing...absolutely nothing.

"I didn't ask you to watch me for 5 hours." He heard her say. "But you're right, that did go fast, didn't it?" Wait. Had she just said...

He buried his face with his hands, gripping his hair tightly. "Did I say that out loud?" He asked her in a muffled voice.

She nodded, looking very confused.

Before even he knew what was happening, Draco was banging his head against the desk shouting "Damn it!" as loud as he could. Granger stopped him from killing himself by lifting him up by the back of his robe.

"What in the world are you doing Malfoy?" she said, a note of concern in her tone.

"How about you put me down and then I'll tell you?" he asked, feeling nervous about dangling by a piece of material. A fall from this high would _definitely_ kill him. She set him back on the table and he flopped over face first into a stack of parchment. "I have a problem." He said simply, turning over to face her.

"Enlighten me." She answered, sitting down in the desk chair, setting her head in her arms.

"It's kind of hard to explain." He started, trying to think exactly what his problem was. "Sometimes, when I think something, I accidentally say it without realizing it, so quite a few times people hear what I'm thinking." He looked up at her to find she was more confused than when he started.

Okay, so maybe he had to make it simpler.

"You know how I called you a beaver last week?"

She nodded, making a face at the memory.

"Well, I was thinking that. I had no idea that I said that out loud. That's my problem. I don't know when I say things out loud, because they were my thoughts."

Her eyes suddenly grew wide. "So you sometimes say what you think? In the sense that they were your thoughts?"

He flipped back onto his stomach. "In a word, yes."

"That's some problem."

"Yes, it is, but at least I don't have extremely low self-esteem." He said without thinking.

She turned to him with a blank look. "I'm just going to ignore that comment, because I'm pretty sure it's one of those 'thought-it-but-said-it' things."

Draco nodded, trying to look as if he didn't care. And not succeeding.

It was quiet again. Ugh, these awkward silences were so annoying. He hated silence. It made him be, well _silent_. And, truth be told, he liked to talk, even to lowly little Mudbloods. It kept him entertained. He opened his mouth to say something, but she started to talk.

"I'm hungry. All I had for lunch was a Sugar Quill." She said.

"That's all I had too!" He exclaimed, glad to be saying anything.

"But I didn't shrink it, so it was quite a bit." Granger pointed out reasonably.

"Either way, it's not very filling."

"True. But I don't especially feel liked going down to dinner." She cocked her head to the side prettily, as if in deep thought about something.

'_NO! She cannot do something prettily. It is against the rule**s!**_' He yelled mentally.

'**The rules of what, exactly?**' another part of his brain asked, half sarcastically.

'_The rules of my LIFE._'

She was talking to him now. "Fine, don't answer me. You're stuck having whatever I'm having. Hope you have an allergic reaction." She grabbed him up off the desk and swept over to the couch closest to the fire, and set him down on the coffee table.

She brought out her wand, but didn't use it just then. Instead she traced her jaw line with the tip of the wand, with a far-away look in her eye. Her face brightened and she began to mutter a long, complicated spell while making strange motions in the air. A shape in the air started to take form, and soon he saw it was a clear cup with a thick white liquid that smelled of vanilla. She took it out of the air, and took a large gulp, smiling after she did so.

Granger then remembered what she had said about him having the same thing. She raised her wand and re-did the spell, and the same plastic cup appeared. She shrank it and set it down on the table next to him. She took another gulp of hers as well, and sat down.

He looked in the cup questionably. "What's this? Why does it smell like vanilla? Is it _supposed _to be cold?"

"Just shut up and drink it." She ordered, tilting the cup towards his mouth.

The creamy substance flowed down his throat. He was surprised at how...good it was. It was a lot like ice cream, except, well it wasn't. He took another sip, and then another. "This is fantastic! It's better than butterbeer! What is it?" he said excitedly.

She looked positively shocked. "You've never had a milkshake before?"

He shook his head while gulping again. It was so good that he even forgot about-

"Malfoy, you're going to get brain freeze." Sure enough, the next second, a cold pain filled his head. How could he have forgotten? It was times like this he really felt stupid.

It wasn't until he had almost finished his milkshake that something in his frozen brain clicked. "This is how you survive." He said loudly, almost slamming his cup down.

"Excuse me?"

"This is how you've been able to not become down to meals, and still stay fed! You just conjure up some food, and eat while studying!" He shouted in realization.

She grinned sheepishly. "You caught me. I learned that spell in second year, so when I was to busy to eat, I made something so that I wouldn't starve. Then again, the spell can't make much and takes forever. Yet another reason why I weigh so little." She added thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to say something, but she held up her hand. "This will not become a discussion about my weight. Don't even start.

He no longer had anything to say.

Granger finished before him and sat back on the couch, glancing at the clock. "7 o'clock!" she groaned. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Does shrinking my stuff sound good?" he asked.

She scowled. "No way. I have a life."

He ginned maliciously. "Sorry to break it to you dearest, but for the time being, I am your life."

"Oh right, I am so afraid of what a 3-inch tall wandless boy is going to do to me." She said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

The grin widened. "I don't know what I'm going to do...except let it slip that you kissed me."

She turned bright read, but tried to keep her cool. "You're acting like I made out with you. So I kissed you. ON THE CHEEK. It's not that big a deal."

"Then why are you blushing?" he retorted.

"I'm not. It's just to hot over here." She claimed, unblinking.

"Lying." He rang out.

"Am not."

"Are not."

"Am NOT."

"Are TOO."

"NOT!"

"TOO!"

"What's going on in here?" said a stern voice.

A/N: Yeah, not really cliffy, I know. There is still a little bit of the day left, but I will finish it in the next chappie. Also in the next chappie, there will be MONDAY. Trust me, good stuff ahead.

BTW, the sleepover will be in a couple chapters, so (yes I know this is dorky) stay tuned!

Sacagawea


	12. Strange Events Occur

A/N: Hullu people! Juno's Mome Rath finally handed over the computer, so I'm typing this up now. Loved writing this chapter, and hopefully you guys will love reading it. It took forever-ness and if super long, so

Second, I want to tell everyone about this great story Exploded toilet bowl is writing, called VIP: Very IRRITATING Person. If you want a good laugh, then that's the story!

And last, I just wanted to say that I wrote a one-shot that I'd REALLY appreciate if you guys reviewed. It's just kind of an idea I had. There is a teensy bit DHr in it though. So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read and REVIEW!!!

Well, I don't really have anything else to say, so here's the Shout-Out!:

**Juno's Mome Rath**: EVERYONE JUST IGNORE THAT REVIEW!

**Karana Belle**: Okey-dokey. : ) I did move btw. Haven't gotten any friends just yet, but then again, I didn't even start school!

**Frifri**: Yeah, that was the longest chappie ever, and this one is even longer!

**iluvwriting**: You are soooooo on the right track.

**Kadoatie24**: Thanks!

**Cassiel Oliviari**: Mini-Draco's? Those would _definetly_ sell.

**Exploded toilet bowl**: Will do!

**slytherinpunk**: Well, gotta love Draco! He is too cute.

**I-Can't-Think-Of-A-Name-lol**: Really? _Some_ people told me it was lame. (glares at Juno's Mome Rath)

**tigerlily727**: Keeping posting!

**Sentra:** Yeah, Draco's going to have _so_ much fun at the sleep over...

**MeLiO**: Thank you! I like to write really long and everyone loves to read really long, so everything works out, doesn't it?

**RissaMalfoy:** My story feels loved. Read your fic, btw, update soon!

And here's the chappie!

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 12: Strange Events Occur**

The two turned to see McGonagal standing by the portrait hole, not looking pleased at all.

"P-professor!" stammered Granger, her face becoming even redder. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you two. And to get Mr. Malfoy. No one's seen you since before lunch, so we wanted to make sure you were all right. It looks like you ate," she said, eying the cups on the table. "What were you arguing about?"

"Well, _Hermione _and I were just discussing yesterday, when she-"

"When I...helped him with his homework, yes I helped with homework, isn't that nice?" She cut in, becoming flustered.

McGonagal looked at the two skeptically for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Mr. Malfoy, you need to come with me, your mother wanted to see you before she left." McGonagal picked him up off the table, keeping him into her hand. He felt awkward though. He had already become a little used to pockets.

But they didn't leave just yet. The professor then pulled out a roll of parchment and handed it to Granger. "Miss Granger, Mrs.Malfoy made this list of things Draco needs shrunken down while in his current state. I assume you'll take care of it?"

The girl took the roll and undid it, finding that it reached all the way to the floor. Her mouth fell open in shock. "But Professor!" She protested, waving the list around. "This is-"

"Miss Granger, Mrs. Malfoy made a list of things her son needs, and even people only 3 inches tall need things! So if you will not do it, then we'll find someone else who _will_." McGonagal said icily.

Taking the hint, she snapped her mouth closed and nodded, but Draco could see the anger reflecting in her eyes. When the teacher began walking to the portrait hole, but couldn't see, he waved at Granger and mouthed. "See you later _darling_."

She blew him a kiss, adding a very rude gesture on the end of it, before marching up the stairs in a huff.

He laughed for a long, long time.

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Instead of going back to the Hospital Wing where they had been before, Draco and McGonagal were heading toward Dumbledore's office. He really did not want to go in there though. It was bad enough the old man ran the school, did he really _want_ to see his living quarters?

He suddenly realized that they were at a door. McGonagal pulled the handle and they saw...

Narcissa Malfoy crying into Snape's shoulder.

'_EW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_' His mind screamed. '_Oh, I did NOT just see that! I am scarred for life!!!!! I will have to go to Saint Mungo's at age 16. Well, sanity was nice while it lasted..._'

"What did you say Draco?" his mother asked suddenly, wiping her eyes.

"Oh, nothing, nothing Mother." He said, wanting to smack himself for saying that out loud.

Snape saw the look on his face though, and suddenly remembered that he had to go to a teacher's meeting. Strangely enough, McGonagal claimed that there was no meeting tonight, but followed him out of the room anyway.

Once both of the teachers were gone, Narcissa burst out into tears again. He let her go on for a little while, but finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Mother, please stop crying, you're driving me crazy!" he exclaimed impatiently, facing her from the table he was sitting on. This only made her sob more, and she turned away from him in tears.

He knew this was a cue to stop, but he couldn't help it. "Why are you crying any way, it doesn't hurt!" He paused. "Well except when she's walking, sometimes I do get a little banged around." His mother turned back to him.

"Oh, Draco, do you want me to take you home? If it's too hard for you we can just go, I only wanted to make you happy!" she cried, looking worried.

'_Sure, make me happy, do you really expect me to believe that?'_ he thought. "No Mother, I do NOT want to go home. Granger's taking very good care of me actually, I think she feels guilty." He really did not mean to say the last bit, and regretted it.

"Why would she feel guilty? What did she do?" Narcissa asked quietly.

'_I knew it! She doesn't ever listen to me when I talk about school. I suppose it's for the better though. Last thing I need is for her to find out about the door, or the punch...or the kiss for that matter._'

"She did WHAT?!?"

"I didn't say anything!" he lied automatically.

"DO NOT LIE TO ME! WHEN DID SHE KISS YOU?" his mother screamed, almost popping his eardrums.

"She didn't!!! Honest! Why would she anyway? We hate each other!" he argued, backing away. "If she even tried I'd hex her into the next century!" '_STUPID, STUPID, STUPID MOUTH! WHY CAN'T I CONTROL YOU?!?_'

Suddenly she calmed. "You would?"

Relief was filling him. "Yes, I would. As I said before, we hate each other." It was working...

"Are you sure you don't want to come home?"

GAH! Why was this conversation just going in circles? Draco was reminded why he never really talked to her. "I'm sure that I don't want to come home. Really. You can stop worrying. I'm fine. Granger will take care of me, I assure you, she's too scared of losing her Head Girl position to torture me."

"Granger is a strange name for a girl." She said thoughtfully.

He rolled his eyes. "Her name's Hermione."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Are you sure you're happy here? Because you can come home if you want."

What was with this sudden obsession with his happiness? "I am happy here. I want to stay in school, and I don't want to go home." He said tiredly. Anything so that she would leave him alone.

Tears filled his mother's eyes. "I'm sorry Draco. I'm just so horrified about what happened to you." She began to sob again, but regained herself quickly when she took out her wand. "I'm going to transport you back to your room. You'll be," She let out another sob. "Safe."

With a swish of a wand he was gone.

And what a relief.

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He felt himself flying through the air in a swirl of color and light. Draco couldn't see anything clearly, not even himself. It was quite dizzying, he felt like throwing up.

And then there was black. All he saw was black. It took him a couple seconds to realize that his head was inside his robe. He rearranged himself and saw that he was in the common room back on the coffee table, and that Granger was just about to sit down, not looking mad any more.

He grinned. Perfect.

"Hello dearest, did you miss me?" Draco said loudly. She jumped about a foot in the air, making him laugh hysterically. When she spotted him, the surprise on her face changed to anger.

"Oh it's **_you_**." She sneered, looming over him. "Do you know what? I just spent the last hour SHRINKING ALL OF YOUR CRAP!!! Do you know what kind of idiotic things your mother put on there?!? I shrank all of your silk robes, and your silk shirts, and your silk sheets!" She plucked a tiny box off the couch and threw it at him. "Oh, and I shrank your damn gold medallion too! I'm not even sure why!"

"But I need those things." He said simply.

She stamped her foot down in rage. "Ugh!!! You are SUCH a little rich boy!" Granger snatched him up off the table and stomped up the stairs.

Once in her room, she put him on the bedside table, where he saw the wooden box from before was. She sat on the bed, silently fuming. Finally he spoke.

"Where's my bed?" he asked.

She pointed into the box.

"What about my clothes, and my stuff?"

She pointed to a drawer on the table.

"And a bathroom?"

She sighed. "Your shower and toilet and cabinet is in my bathroom. I'll leave the door open. You go in there, and when you are done showering and...everything, you come out. " As she spoke, she brought him over to the bathroom. "Now go in there and leave me alone."

He wondered what he had done to get her so mad.

'_And I am NOT a little rich boy._'

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Draco emerged a half an hour later in his green boxer shorts.

Granger, who was now in her pink and white bear pajamas, stared at him from the bed.

"What?"

She still stared. "That's...all you're wearing?" she said squeakily.

"Yes. This is what I wear to bed." He paused. "Aren't you going to come get me? I can't walk over there."

She seemed to snap out of her trance. "Oh, right." She walked over sort of slowly, and if possible nervously. Once she got there, she still just looked down at him. Then, she covered her eyes with her hand. "I can't."

Then it clicked. Well, if it bothered her that much, then she could just say it. "Is my bare chest bothering you?" he questioned.

Her cheeks flushed red. "No. Of course not. It's not bothering me." But she still didn't pick him up. "Well maybe. Just a little."

He sighed, and went back into the bathroom, coming back out with his shirt half buttoned. "Better?"

She nodded.

A few minutes later Draco lay down in his bed, thinking about the day.

He hoped that tomorrow he woke up in his own bed.

That wasn't in Granger room.

Or in a box, for that matter.

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_Monday, September 21st_

Hermione awoke to the sound of Malfoy's yelling.

For a second, she wondered what he was doing in her room, but then saw the box on the night stand.

Oh great.

She leaned over and opened the lid, to see Malfoy shouting and punching random things.

"What are you doing?" she said, yawning slightly. '_Funny, I seem to be saying that a lot lately..._'

He looked up at her, breathing hard. "I just realized something."

It was too early in the morning to play the Guessing Game. "What did you realize Malfoy?"

"I'm going to have to be replaced on the Quidditch team!" he grumbled, kicking the side of the box.

She couldn't help it. She felt the teensiest bit sorry for him just then. It wasn't his fault he had gotten shrunken down, and like most wizarding males, he loved Quidditch.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll choose someone as good as you." Realizing that she had just complimented him, she added. "Not that that will take much work."

He crumbled to the floor. "My life sucks."

"Can't argue with that."

Malfoy glared up at her. "Oh, the one time you agree with me it's saying how horrible I am?"

"I've agreed with you before." She said, leaning against the headboard.

"Oh yeah? Like when?" he sneered.

What part of 'too early in the morning to do anything' did he not understand? "Like that one time." An incident popped into her mind. "With the Head Code."

He banged his head against the floor. "Yet another time when agreeing with me was not such a good idea. If we hadn't done that then we wouldn't be in this mess."

"I really think we would have had to sign it either way. And we probably would have had no problem with it, if we actually read it. We had no idea this would happen." Hermione said reasonably.

"And if we had...well, let's just say I would be home right now, at the height of 5' 10", eating chocolate."

"The French kind of course, not the other one, it's way too lumpy." She quipped innocently, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "You know, the one that matches my eyes."

"Shut up, I was hungry." He shot back, but she could see that he was trying to stifle a laugh.

This could get interesting. "After that, maybe you could go have some crème bits, with caramel curls-I mean _swirls_-in it." She bent and pressed one of her curls to her skin. "Doesn't it look dee-licious?"

He then started to-Hermione couldn't believe it-_giggle._ For some strange reason, this only made her keep going. "Let's see, my lips are probably like strawberries, right? Strawberries dipped in crème, yum." She licked her lips.

Malfoy was now in a fit of laughter, holding the bedpost for support. She saw The Real Smile on his face. She couldn't help thinking how much nicer he looked like that, how much sweeter...

Just the thought made her grin. Malfoy sweet? Draco _Torment_ Malfoy sweet?

"My middle name is Lucius, but I like the sound of Torment too." He smirked at her.

She clamped her hand over her mouth. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes. And rather loudly too. I'm _touched_ that you think I'm sweet." He said, bowing low.

Hermione drew her knees up and buried her face in the blankets, muttering something inaudible.

"What?" he said, confused.

She lifted her head. "I said, 'I'm turning into you.'"

He seemed interested. "How do you mean that?"

She rolled her eyes. "What I mean is we're rubbing off on each other. I just said something without realizing it. Probably you'll stop blinking when you lie any time now. I bet by the end of today I'll be blond and drawl about 'stupid Mudbloods' every other second."

"I do not drawl!" he exclaimed, straightening up immediately. "And what's the matter with being blond?"

She gave him a Look. "When did I say there was something wrong with being blond? At least I don't act like you're poisonous."

"I don't act like you're poisonous!" He replied hotly.

"Sure you don't."

"I don't!" he argued, drawing himself up even more. "Besides the fact that I hate you, and that you are a Mudblood, and that you hang around with Potter, I have absolutely no problem with you!"

"Oh yes, and that's per-" Then she saw them. Her eyes bugged at the sight. She didn't think anyone could have so many.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Uh, Malfoy?"

"What?" he snarled.

"Hate to change the subject, but do those belong to you?"

He around to face the window, and stumbled, almost falling flat on his face.

But then again, who wouldn't?

When's the last time _you _saw 30 owls outside your window?

123123123123123123123123123123

She unlatched the window, and all the owls came zooming in, some taking a couple of laps around the room, other settling where ever there was space. Finally all of them were perched somewhere, staring at the both of them with big yellow eyes.

"WHERE ARE ALL THESE OWLS FROM?" she asked demandingly.

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW, I DON'T HAVE _THAT_ MANY!" he exclaimed, almost as loud.

Hermione took a letter from the nearest owl, which was sitting right next to her head.

"_Dear Draco," she read. "I forgot to say goodbye in the last letter. Please forgive me. How is she treating you? I hope she remembered to shrink you robes, you'll get a rash unless you wear the finest silk._ _Did she shrink your bed? I pray you were comfy last night. Also, has your medallion been taken care of? _" She put down the letter, glaring at him.

"What?" he said, looking highly amused..

She glared a little more. Was she purposely being mocked by the Malfoy's? The way he was going, he was going to get thrown off the North Tower before he could even say 'pureblood.' But, he obviously wasn't getting the message, so he merely tossed the letter onto the bed and took began to read another one.

"_Draco," _this one said,_ "Are you all right? I'm starting to regret leaving you there. It's so lonely here, only me and my sorrows to keep myself company. Maybe I should take you home. I only wanted you to stay in school so you could be happy and that you could keep learning. You're so clever, I would never want you to waste your intelligence." _

Hermione stopped reading, as the rest of the letter was blurred with tears. "Malfoy, not to be rude to your mother, but does she really have to keep crying all over everything?" She said, trying not to look annoyed.

"Like Snape's robes?"

Her eyes grew wide. "What do you mean, 'Like Snape's robes?'?"

He waved his hand, looking uncomfortable about the matter. "It's nothing. I'll spare you from the horror and disgust."

"Tell me!" she shrieked.

Malfoy grimaced. "Alright already, I'll tell you!" Then his face contorted into an evil grin. "On one condition."

This was just too good to pass up. "Name it." It was probably something dumb anyway, like say 'Draco Malfoy is hot'. God, he _really_ needed to get a life.

"How much do you weigh?"

Oh so that's what he was getting at. He was trying to mock her to death. Well, two could play at that game. "I weigh 185 kazillion pounds. It just doesn't show because I magic it off." She crossed her arms over her chest, a sweet smile plastered on her face.

"Very funny Granger. You don't tell the truth, I don't tell the tale. So spill it. What would it hurt anyway?" he said silkily, trying to look innocent.

So that's when she finally decided to actually tell him. What exactly would it hurt? And it was nothing she was embarrassed about either. "102."

He froze. "Really?"

"Yes really. Now tell me about this thing with Snape." Well, at least THAT was over with.

"Shouldn't you weigh more than that?"

Bleh. Was he just going to keep talking about it? "No. Not for my height I shouldn't."

"Are you sure?" He had a funny look on his face, almost as if he was worried she was going to fall over any second from lack of food.

"YES. Now tell me." This was getting annoying. "And it better be worth it." She added under her breath.

"Fine. But be prepared to be disgusted, horrified, and have an overall feeling of doom dwell upon you." He started dramatically and all eyes, human and owl, were on him. "Well, last night, when McGonagal took me to go say goodbye to my mother, she said that she was in Dumbledore's office. So we went there and then she took the handle of the door and he opened it to find..." he paused, waiting for the right moment to speak again. "My mother crying into Snape's shoulder. It was just GROSS. He was being all sympathetic too, patting her on the back and saying things like, "It's okay Narcissa.". I tried to look away, but it was just so sickening. I couldn't."

That was IT?!? That idiot made her wait for THAT. Even the owls were hooting in discontent. What a dull story.

Finally she spoke. "You know Malfoy, that's not all that bad. Actually, that was just stupid. Really it was."

He seemed shocked. "Of course it's bad! It's horrible! It's gross! I think I'm scarred for life."

"Sure."

"Do not be sarcastic at me!"

"Okay."

"I mean it!"

Hermione slammed the lid of the box shut while laughing. "Malfoy, do yourself a favor," she said, at last getting out of bed. "And shut up."

123123123123123123123123123123

_28 letters, 2 meals, and a few hours later_

Hermione sat at her desk holding a book out in front of her, Malfoy up on her shoulder, partially hidden by her hair.

"So," she said eagerly. "Can you see?" She really hoped he'd be able to. They'd been trying this for too long already.

"Yes," came a muffled voice in her ear, "But I'm suffocating. You have a lot of hair. That keeps getting in my mouth."

"EW!" she shrieked, pulling him off her shoulder in one swift movement. "Don't get my hair in your mouth, I just washed it!"

"Yeah, I could smell that." He coughed, jumping onto the desk. "Must you use such strong shampoo?"

"How is this ever going to work?" she asked out loud, banging her head against the wood.

You see a couple hours ago, both of them realized that they still needed to figure out how he was going to be able to work during classes. Dumbledore said nobody could know, so they had to he could see, but no one could see him. They tried a million and a half things already, all of them without luck. And he sitting on her shoulder was the only thing that seemed to work. So, hair in his mouth or not, that was where he would have to be.

Suddenly, there was a noise. Her head snapped up, and she looked around. It sounded like two voices...

_That were right outside the portrait hole._

Without thinking, she flung herself on top of the desk. Malfoy was now being squashed under her rib cage, trying to figure out what was going on.

"HARRY? RON?" Hermione yelled in surprise. "What are you doing here?!?"

The two boys were standing right inside the portrait hole, looking at her in equal shock.

"We came to see if you were all right." Harry said quietly. "When you didn't come to classes, we went to the Hospital Wing to see if you were there."

"But you weren't." Ron put in.

"B-but how'd you find me?" she stuttered. Nobody knew the location of the Head Dorms! Except...

"Parvati and Lavender. They told us where this was and the password." Ron explained.

"And we used this." Harry grinned, bringing out the Maurdurer's Map and waving it in the air. Then, he brought it down, so he could read it. He pulled it very close to his face, his eyes widening behind his glasses.

"Hermione." He said shakily. "I thought you said Malfoy wasn't here."

She became very confused. "He's not." She lied. What was he talking about?

Harry held out the map. "Then what's this?" She couldn't see what he was pointing at from far away, so she motioned for him to come closer.

Ron looked at her funny. "Why don't you get up?"

"I can't. It'll ruin my-my reading position! Can't read without being in a reading position can I?" she fibbed quickly. Good they didn't know about the not blinking thing.

Ron shrugged, and brought the map over to her.

When she saw it, a feeling of dread filled her.

On the map, she could see three dots close to where they were. One said 'Harry Potter'. The second one said, 'Ron Weasley'.

And then, the third and final dot had one name on either side of it.

The first was hers, Hermione Granger.

But it was the second one that had scared her.

Because on the other side of the dot, was the name Draco Malfoy.


	13. Pre Sleepover Madness

A/N: I'm back! With Chapter 13! See? (Points to large handbag). Chapter 13 will be the last chapter before the sleepover, and you guys will find out what how Hermione handled Harry and Ron! The sleepover btw, will be really long, 2 or 3 chapters. And I just going to give you a hint here: Pay very close attention this chapter. Because there is something in here that won't seem very big, but will turn out to be huge. Try to guess what it is.

Also, I guess some of you saw my newest story The Proposal. I know it's the fluffiest thing in the world, but still. I want it to be read. And you know what? I don't even give a crap if you flame me. Just review it people. Yeah, I am that pathetic.

One last thing! I got my 100TH REVIEW OF BE A DOLL! I am SO happy! I'd like to thank **MeLiO**, who was the hundredth reviewer, not to mention any one who ever reviewed this story!! And (I'm really sorry about this) sadly there is no space to do a shout-out, but I will mention everyone who reviewed chapter 12!

Thanx to: **frifri, tigerlily727, iluvwriting, slytherinpunk, Exploded toilet bowl, I-Can't-Think-Of-A-Name-Lol, Karana Belle, Smiles, RissaMalfoy, Cassiel Oliviari, lewisa, Hermione-Granger-420 and _MeLiO_!**

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 13: Pre-Sleepover Madness**

Hermione couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She couldn't even breathe.

How was she supposed to explain this one? She couldn't believe that she had forgotten the Maurdurers Map. She couldn't make any sense of this. Even Peter Pettigrew, who was disguised as a rat, had shown up on the map! Why would 3-inch tall Slytherins be any different?

But there had to be some way out. There was always a way out. The question was, how? Not even she, the 'smartest witch at Hogwarts' could think of a way to beat the map. The map was always right. She knew it. Ron knew it. Harry knew it. They all knew it.

That was it then.

She was going to outsmart the map by making them think the map had already been outsmarted.

"Harry!" she said lightly. "That's impossible. You and I both know that Malfoy's not here. He's gone. He left really early yesterday. I saw him go."

Harry was silent, just looking down at the ground, while Ron was examining the map.

She supposed this was her cue to keep going. "I mean, I know that's it's never been wrong before, but you know it is _really old_. Maybe the charm on it is starting to wear off..." She stopped when she saw the look on Harry's face. He looked like a little kid that was about to cry. Oh god, what had she done?

"The charm isn't wearing off." He said firmly, despite his expression. "It's not! It won't wear off. It never will. Sirius told me that. Sirius told me the map doesn't lie!!!"

"Oh Harry, I know that, but you can't fight what's inevi-"

"I AM NOT FIGHTING WHAT'S INEVITABLE!!!" He shouted. Then, his voice becoming weak again, he repeated, "The map doesn't lie. The map doesn't lie..."

Ron shot a death glare at Hermione. "Harry, uh old_ chum_, maybe we should just go. You know, Hermione looks really...busy."

"NO! I'm not leaving until she tells us where Malfoy is! He's here, I just know it, THE MAP DOESN'T LIE!!!" He dashed over to the desk and started to grab at the air above her.

"Harry!" she screamed, almost jumping up "What are you doing?"

"He's here, he has to be, the map doesn't lie! Malfoy is somewhere around you, your dots were right on top of each other!! He has an invisibility cloak and he's hovering right over you, or maybe he's right on-" He then touched her back.

It took her a second to realize what he was doing. "Harry, stop it!" she yelled, pushing him away from her. How dare he even think that? "Malfoy is not here, and he is definitely NOT on top of me! Now I know that you'd trust the map with your life, but don't trust it with mine! I understand that you are very attached to it because it was made by Sirius and your dad, but I don't think either of them would want you to start attacking me because of it!"

"But he's here! If the map doesn't lie then he has to be here! Otherwise the map is lying! And that's not true. If he's gone then he wouldn't show up on the map! He did, so he's here." He grumbled, his face hardening.

"Uh, Harry?" Ron asked shakily. "Maybe we should go?" He grabbed Harry by the arm and started dragging him out the door, rolling up the map as he did so.

"Wait!" she heard him shout, trying to wriggle free of Ron's grasp. "I forgot to check _under_ Hermione! Maybe he's there! Let me-"

"Bye 'Mione! See you tomorrow." Ron shouted over him, the portrait snapping shut behind them.

She waited a couple of seconds to make sure they were gone, before climbing off the desk.

"Malfoy? Are you okay?" she said softly, in case Harry was listening from outside.

"No." Malfoy wheezed, breathing deeply and gripping his chest in pain. "Why did you do that?"

"Because, in case you didn't notice, Harry and Ron just stormed in here!" She hissed at him, pointing to the portrait hole.

"I know _that_." He growled, standing up and taking a few steps. "I want to know why you just threw yourself at me. I know I'm hard to resist, but seriously Granger, that was a little forward-"

Hermione snatched up that smirking ferret faster than lightning. "Do you remember that little talk we had the other day?"

"Not really." He drawled right into her face.

"I'll remind you then." She put him back on the table, and when she picked him up again, he was dangling by his shirt tails. "You follow what I say. And you leave me alone. Because all it takes is one little movement and _splat_, no more Malfoy." She recited, spinning him around in the air.

"I remember now." He said, without showing the least bit of fear. "After all this you told me I was fun to toy with."

She tossed him back on the desk as hard as she could. Unfortunately he landing in a stack of parchment, and was unharmed. "Nice attempt at trying to kill me. What's next? Are you going to drop me in a glass of water?"

"Don't give me ideas!" she snapped at him dangerously.

He simply sat down and leaned back on his palms. "So," he started, "What did Potter mean by 'the map doesn't lie'?"

Hermione thought about this for a moment. There was no way she was telling Malfoy about the map. The second he got back to his normal size, he would go blab it all to Snape and that would not end well.

"Harry didn't say map. He said...trap." She said breezily.

He raised his eyebrows. "He said trap?"

"Yes."

"Potter has a magical...trap?"

She nodded. She didn't even care it was a stupid lie.

"And it was made by his father and Sirius Black?" He continued, smirking.

Shoot it. Shoot, shoot, shoot. He knew. He knew the entire story. '_Just make something up, Hermione!_' her brain ordered.

"Not Sirius Black. It was Sirius....Binns." She said, glancing at her History of Magic report. "Professor Binns' great-grandson. They were close. A couple of years ago he died and Harry's still really sensitive about it."

"I'm sure he is." Malfoy said sarcastically. "So this _trap_, given to him by Sirius _Binns_. It doesn't lie?"

"Right." Gosh was he stupid. It looked like he was actually falling for it.

"This trap tells Potter where people are?"

"No. You heard wrong." Said Hermione, becoming nervous. "It does something else."

"What _does_ it do? And if it doesn't tell him where people are, then how could it not lie?" he questioned.

"It tells him...the truth." She offered thickly.

'_Hermione Granger, that was just plain stupid. Not even Malfoy would believe that._'

"No, I wouldn't. I don't, by the way. Because I'm sure you've realized by now that you have said all of this without blinking."

At his words, she fell out of her chair, covering her face with her hands. She made a vow to not put down her hands for the rest of her life. Her face would be forever red with shame. How could she have been so stupid? All that idiotic lying, and he had been able to tell the whole time. Why was it that she was always embarrassed the most right in front of Malfoy?

"Granger."

'_Don't look up._'

"Graaaaanger."

'_Don't you dare look up._'

"Miss Hermione Granger."

'_If you look up, you will lose what's left of your dignity._

"Hermione Something-That-Starts-With-a-J Granger."

'_Do not look up. Do not laugh. It's not even funny.'_

"I am Snape, the potions master." Said Malfoy in a deep, nasally voice. "Answer me, you lowly Gryffindor. Or you will get D's for the rest of your time at Hogwarts, and possibly even after that."

'_IF YOU GIGGLE I'M GOING TO FORCE YOU TO KILL US!!!_'

"This is Professor McGonagal, your Deputy Headmistress. Unless you speak to me Miss Granger, I'm afraid I'll have to be extremely prissy at you for the rest of forever."

'_Okay, that was only the_ tiniest bit _funny...'_

"My name is Albus Dumbledore. As you can see, what I do all day is adjust the lighting in every room so that my eyes look very twinkly. Now I'm very sorry about this, but I'm going to have to twinkle my eyes at you unless you talk."

'_Oh, fine. Go ahead and laugh.'_

Hermione lifted her head, and gave a slight smile up at Malfoy who was leaning over the edge of the desk. She stood up and got him off the table, before heading up the stairs. "Thanks." She said.

"For what?" He responded, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

She smiled inwardly, but shook her head. "Did I say anything?"

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_The Next Morning_

'_How exactly do you tell your parents that you are taking care of someone 3-inches tall without them freaking out?_'

She thought about this, then said out loud. "Don't let them know it's a guy."

It was Tuesday morning, and Hermione was writing her parents while waiting for Malfoy to finish in the bathroom. Yesterday, she had asked McGonagal if she was allowed to tell her parents about what happened to him. She had permitted her to, as long as they wouldn't tell anyone about it. She highly doubted they would though; her parents took her word for things when it came to magic.

Suddenly, a certain blonde burst out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. "Where. Is. My. GEL!!!" he yelled, surprisingly loud for someone so tiny.

She lifted the piece of parchment over her face. "Please Malfoy, put some clothes on."

"The towel comes OFF unless SOMEONE in this room tells me where my gel is in the next ten seconds! Ten, nine, eight-"

"Fine! I'll tell you, but go put some clothes on first! I don't want to be 'scarred for life'." She retorted mockingly. He grumbled something, but went back inside the bathroom.

Stuffing the letter into her bag, she got out of bed, making a mental note to finish it later. She knew he would be out in a second, so got dressed quickly and waited right outside the bathroom door. He came out, his clothes sticking to him some places, so she could tell he hadn't completely dried off. Malfoy glared up at her, but with wet hair, he didn't look quite as menacing.

"So," he sneered, "Where is it?"

"Go into the first drawer on the right side of the cabinet." She instructed, bracing herself for what would happen next.

A shout of anger echoed in the entire bathroom. He dashed out holding a single item in his hand: the small plastic comb.

"It's the damn comb!" He shook it at her. "Where is my GEL?"

Hermione feigned an innocent look. "Oh dear, I must have forgotten to shrink it."

"You...you little...WITCH!"

She flashed her teeth at him. "Why yes, I am. Thank you for finally acknowledging it. Now run along widd-o Dwaco, we don't wanna be wate for cwasses! And if you're good I'll buy you a pony!"

"I'll be good then. By the way, I'd like the pony to be_ pink_." He said, layering his words with heavy sarcasm.

She tapped her head. "I'll keep that in mind."

Malfoy stuck his tongue out at her. She did the same.

But he still didn't go back in.

"You want me to do it, don't you?"

"If it would pain you to do so."

Hermione sighed and scooped him up as she went into the bathroom. 'If it would pain you to do so.' This sounded childish, but what a _meanie_. Then again, childish was what he was. She hadn't stuck her tongue out at anybody for years. It was amazing how much of a baby he was at 16.

She supposed it was partially her fault though. She really should have shrunken his gel, it was on the list. But then she remembered how nice he had looked without it. All falling into his eyes like that...and Girly-Hermione sort of took over. Girly-Hermione went and hid the entire bag of gel under her bed. And Girly-Hermione had ordered Normal-Hermione to not go and get it. So she didn't.

As she ran the miniature comb through his smooth hair, she suddenly found herself wondering when his birthday was. Probably it was because she had just reminded herself of his age. Funny, she was older than him. Most likely by only a few months, but still.

"When's your birthday?" she asked him finally.

"Why? Thinking about what to get me?" he smirked, "Knew you loved me Granger."

'_Just play along._' "Yes, I do love you Malfoy. I can't believe you found me out." She said imitating his drawl.

He caught her sarcasm, while she was positive the promise of a challenge crossed his face. "When did you start loving me?" he asked dramatically.

"When I...slapped you in third year. Your nasty-looking pale skin was so attractively slimey, how could not fall for you?"

"I feel the same way. Your Mudblood-ed-ness is so disgusting, that I couldn't help but be rebellious to my Slytherin ways and fall madly in love with you." He went on. "And in fourth year, when I made you freakishly large buck teeth even more beavery, you must know that I did it out of love."

"Of course I believe that. When you were turned into the ferret that you are, I laughed, but inside, I was terrified that he wouldn't change you back. Even if you didn't look all that different."

"Oh, Hermione." He breathed.

"Draco." she sighed.

It suddenly occurred to them both how stupid they were being. They had meant to bug each other, but that last part was a bit much. The two straightened up immediately, coughing awkwardly and adjusting their robes.

'_Well,_ that _had been an uncomfortable moment._'

She put him in her pocket, grabbed both of their books, and went out the portrait hole.

"We don't have time to go to breakfast." She whispered to him as they made their way through the halls. "So we're just going straight to Arithmancy."

"But I'm _hungry_." He protested. "You must be too."

"No, I'm not. I'm not hungry at all." Right then, her stomach rumbled.

"Sure you aren't." he said slowly, savoring her embarrassment.

She ignored him.

They entered the classroom, almost running right into Professor Vector. He jumped when he saw her. "Miss Granger," he said very calmly-much _too_ calmly, "Would you please come to my office?"

Wonderful. Professor Vector obviously wanted to marvel at the shrunken ferret. What was so great about him anyway? He was tiny. Big deal. The only good thing about it was he couldn't talk as loud anymore.

In the office, Hermione waited as the professor rushed in and out, getting ready for class. With a final word to the rest of the students, he shut the door and put a charm on the room so no one else would be able to hear.

"Well Miss Granger...where is he?" he started, looking a tad excited about it. She did everything in her power to keep from laughing, and pulled the little Malfoy from her pocket. He seemed slightly amused as well, putting on an 'oh-don't-you-feel-sorry-for-me' face.

Upon seeing him, Professor Vector drew back a few steps. He removed his glasses and put them back on, and kept at this motion for a while. He looked not only shocked, but scared as well. She rolled her eyes; there was no reason to be afraid of him now that he was only 3 inches tall.

"Um...hello Mr. Malfoy." The man said, giving a small wave. "How, er...are you?"

"Okay, I guess. It's horrible being so tiny though." The Slytherin sighed. "It depresses me so."

Hermione's free hand flew to her mouth to hide her giggles. Oh gosh, what a faker! If he wasn't a guy, she would definitely label him "Drama Queen". Though he was quite convincing...

"Oh I'm, eh, sorry to hear that. Are you being treated well?" his eyes darted to her and back.

"Yes, Gran-_Hermione_ has been treating me so well, I think I might want her to take care of me even after I'm back to my right size." He winked. "If you know what I mean."

It took a couple of seconds before the professor seemed to get it. Suddenly, his face brightened, and he began to laugh. Really loud. "Oh," he went between guffaws. "Oh. Yes I know what you mean." He stopped laughing and winked back. "I just didn't know that you, you..." he trailed off, pointing to Hermione and then Draco.

She felt her face growing hotter and hotter. Oooooh, she was going to kill him for that! For making a TEACHER think they were ! '_It_ _sounds wrong even in my mind!_'

A single sentence interrupted her death plans for Malfoy. "Anyway, Mr. Malfoy should turn in his homework now."

"What?" she asked, tensing up.

"I said, Mr. Malfoy should turn in his homework now. He can't hand it in front of the class. It's small isn't it?"

She pointed to the door. "Mr. Malfoy left his homework in the common room." She said squeakily, becoming scared. Please, let her go...

"Oh. Well, you can go and get it I suppose." The teacher said, shrugging. "I'll start class without you two. Hurry back."

She dashed to the door and ran out of the classroom, down the hall and right back to the common room. Once there, she flopped onto the couch, clutching her robe in worry. "Oh no, oh no." she whimpered, rocking back and forth.

He crawled out of her pocket, and gave her a sharp kick in the thigh. "Why did you tell him that?" he said angrily. "I don't HAVE my homework! That's not really a lie you can cover up you know!!!"

She began to shake violently. "I know! I j-just didn't know what to do!"

He looked slightly worried. "Calm down Granger. Stop shaking."

Hermione trembled more. "I c-can't!" she found herself blubbering, "I d-d-don't know w-what to do!" Her heart was beating wildly against her chest, a frantic fluttering. '_Oh, right now is really not the time for a breakdown._' She told herself, trying to hold her hands steady. Malfoy was saying something to her, but she couldn't pay attention long enough to understand him.

The thing was, she DID know what to do. Well, Extremely-Desperate-Hermione did anyway. Extremely- Desperate-Hermione knew exactly what to do. The thing was, she was only Desperate- Hermione at the moment. If she had made an appearance earlier, then they would already be back in class, copying down their number charts. But hopefully, she was coming soon.

Three, two, one...

All at once, the shaking stopped. It just stopped. It was sudden, and he sprung away from her when she stopped. She found herself getting up, taking all her homework out of her bag, and whipping out her wand.

"Malfoy," she asked calmly, "We have all the same classes right?"

He nodded, not really sure what had just happened to her.

"And you don't have any classes I don't, right?"

Another nod.

"Okay...now, I'm going to do a spell, and I've never done it before, and don't ever expect me to do it again. I found it by chance, but made myself swear never to use it. Otherwise, Harry and Ron wouldn't have done a homework assignment for years. And the only reason I'm using it now is because I'm extremely desperate." She told him.

First, she did a simple duplicating spell of her homework. Then, pointing her wand at the extra copy, she said 4 words. "_Abutor Adigo Adsertor- Draco_."

The pieces of parchment were lifted into the air and there came a loud scratching sound, like a dozen quills dragging across the pages all at once. They waited for a few moments, until the papers landed back into a neat pile in her hand.

"Reducio." 'His' homework became small and she handed it him with a bright smile on her face.

Malfoy stared at her.

She gave him a Look. "Your welcome."

And yet he still couldn't find the words he wanted to say.

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It was almost the end of Arithmancy and Draco was...well, bored.

'_I thought being in class on Granger's shoulder might make this a little more interesting, but I suppose not. Is a class being interesting too much to ask?_'

He thought for a moment.

'_And I do not mean _interesting _by me being mauled by a hippogriff._'

He was so bored, he was sleepy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something to rest his head on. He wondered for only a couple of seconds if he should or not, but the tired part of him took over.

He scooted over a little bit and leaned against Granger's neck. Draco could feel her twitch when he did so, but she didn't swat at him, so he stayed there.

'_Mmm....so warm. Necks were made for people to lean on. Wish I had known before. I think this sitting-on-her-shoulder-during-every-single-class thing could have its priorities. Maybe I won't need a coat after all.'_

He craned his neck so his mouth was right next to her ear lobe. "Granger I'm bored. Say something entertaining."

"Shut up. We're going to get in trouble. And that tickles. Stop it."

"What tickles?" he said innocently. "This?" He drew in a breath, and let it out right in her ear.

She laughed out loud while trying to grab at him. The entire class turned towards her. "Hermione? Something funny?" The professor asked, looking at her sternly from the board.

"Uh, yes Professor, I found it rather ironic that the numbers are related through the chart, but not without it."

He looked back at his writing on the board, and gave a chuckle. "Oh. I guess your right." With that he went back to the lesson.

"See? I told you! We almost got in trouble." She whispered fiercely.

"We? _You_ almost got in trouble. I'm not here remember?" He snickered, laughing maliciously.

She didn't answer.

The bell rang, and she gathered up her things hurriedly, making him bounce around uncomfortably. "Do you know the meaning of the word 'graceful'?" Draco hissed at her.

"Graceful. An adjective. Having or showing grace. Root word: Grace." Granger recited primly.

"You really are a walking, talking dictionary."

"Yeah, and I can do this too." She squeezed him around the middle.

They went into the hallway, and of course started toward the other two members of the Golden Trio. The two idiots were scanning a piece of old parchment, and when she spotted it, she turned at started to walk away.

"What are you doing?"

"That's the map. They're going to start interrogating me again. You know, possibly even search through my bag."

He was surprised. "Wow. Potter really is crazy."

She sighed. "When it comes to the map he is." So instead, she headed towards the dungeons.

That's when he remembered: They were going to Potions! That was one class he definitely would miss. Besides the fact that it was easy, he usually would be able to torture the stupid Gryffindor's all he wanted.

An evil thought came to him. '_Well, I can pretty much do anything to this one...'_

The little (now teensy) wheels in his head started turning, and by the time they were in the classroom, he had the perfect plan to get her in trouble. Get points docked, have her humiliated. The whole deal.

Snape came into the room. As he passed, he mumbled "Turn in Mr. Malfoy's homework next classtime." With that, he began the lesson. They would be making some sort of strength potion,that would make the drinker 10 times stronger. Yet again, they themselves would not be testing it, but using it on spiders.

'_How boring._' Draco thought, slumping against Granger's neck. _'I'd just love to see Longbottom dragging himself to his next class because he made the potion wrong._'

"What do I do?" He asked her, as she got out all the supplies. "I can't really help you unless I'm normal sized."

"I don't know." She shot back. "Just sit there for all I care."

He grinned. '_Oh, I won't just be sitting here._'

Snape was going around the room to 'check on' the students (for Slytherins this meant nod approvingly, and for Gryffindors it meant to insult their potion-making skills). Right when he passed, Draco leaned a little bit outwards and said in a high, girl-ish voice. "Snape is a slimy git!"

The professor turned to her, his eyes flashing. "What did you say Miss Granger?"

She was trembling again. "N-nothing Professor."

"I distinctly heard you say 'Snape is a slimy git'." He went, on his voice rising.

"I didn't say anything Professor."

He made a tutting sound. "Lying is worse than the action you are lying _for_ you impudent show off. 30 points from Gryffindor!"

She gasped. "But Professor, I-"

"There will be no buts. I am tired of you thinking you can get away with things like that." He felt the rest of the class staring and turned to them. "What are you looking at? GET BACK TO YOUR WORK!!!" Everyone immediately became busy with their potions.

Granger sat back in her seat, looking into her half-full cauldron. She looked like she was going to be sick. "30 points." She muttered under her breath. "I lost my house 30 points."

"I know that he can be unfair," he whispered, "But that's no reason to show it, and especially when he can hear you."

Her vocal cords rattled. "You did this Malfoy. I can't believe you. That was a mean, horrible, dirty trick."

He put his lips right into her ear. "Those would be great middle names too."

The rest of the class time passed without a word, only the occasional 'hmph' or 'Mudblood'. It was another awkward time, because they both were so used to talking (or rather arguing) but they were forcing themselves not too.

And frankly, it was driving him crazy, because as said before, Draco liked to talk. So he began talking to himself. Again.

'**It's your own fault stupid.'**

'_Shut up_.'

'**Well it is.**'

'_So? Does that mean you have to rub it in? It was a great joke, and I got her good_.'

'**So? Now you have no one to talk to.**'

'_Well maybe I don't care. She's boring anyway.'_

'**Look, I know you better than anyone-of course you know yourself quite well-and I know that you think she is very interesting.**'

'_That's only because how much of a Mudblood she is is rather fascinating._'

'**Still**.'

'_SHUT UP!'_

And now he was really left alone.

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Hermione walked out of her last class of the day, feeling very relieved. All day, she had had to suffer Malfoy tickling her ear by talking right into it. She could feel it buzzing right now, even though he hadn't said anything for ages. She couldn't believe that she was going to have to live with this for the next few weeks, if not months.

"HERMIONE!" yelled a familiar voice over the crowd of students.

She turned to see none other than Ginny Weasley waving at her from across the hall. She felt herself grinning, and then she ran over to her friend.

"Ginny!" she exclaimed, giving her a hug. "I'm so glad your finally out of the Hospital Wing! What happened anyway?"

The red head giggled, but waved her hand, "I'll tell you about that later. But right now what I wanted to talk about is," she lowered her voice. "Malfoy."

She rolled her eyes. "Ginny, he's gone. Left. Went away on some little rich boy trip on Sunday." When she said this she could feel him tug on her hair, but she ignored him.

Her face fell. "Oh. Well, do you know when he'll be back? Because you should tell him how you really feel."

She laughed. "If you mean telling him I think he's the biggest prick on earth it's already been done." Another tug, this one harder.

"No Mione, I mean **_really_**."

"For the millionth time, I do not like Malfoy." Yet another pull.

Ginny shrugged while grinning. "It's okay. If you don't want to admit it now, we'll get it out of you at the sleepover."

Suddenly, a sharp pain came from under her ear. "OW!!!!!!!!!!!" Hermione looked to see Malfoy was OVER her shoulder, in plain sight, dangling by a few strands of hair. Her hands flew up to cover him, and she quickly settled him back on her shoulder.

The youngest Weasley stared. "What was that?"

"It was just a....thing! Yes it was a thing, did you see where it came from? It's been bugging me all day, I wonder why people keep throwing...THINGS at me, don't you?"

"Um okay." There was a few seconds of silence before she began talking again. "Anyway, the sleepover. You know the where, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, we've decided when to have it too."

Hermione waited.

"The sleepover will be on Halloween."

A/N: I wonder how many people actually read that far. Anywho, yeah, the next chapter will be THE SLEEPOVER, but you have to tell me what you think of this chappie before I do!

REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!


	14. The Sleepover Act I

A/N: WOOOOT!!! 19 reviews for just one chapter (okay, so one of them was for Chapter 2, but whatever)! I don't think I could be any happier!!! Hazzah!

Anywho, as you know, this is 'Act' I of the Sleepover. Yes, there will be more than one part, because this is pretty important. Of course, this chapter won't be as long as the last, sorry I had to bore you all to death. But I couldn't hold off another chapter for this. It would get too long and then you'd have to wait forever to see what the important thing is! Actually, after I read your reviews I realized that there are _two_ important things. One will come in the sleepover part, but the one I had been originally talking about will be the chappie right after. All I'm going to say is that someone (or possibly more than that?) is going to be visiting Hogwarts very soon...

And there are all the names of my GREAT REVIEWERS!!!!!: **iluvwriting (you were the 101st reviewer BTW), slytherinpunk, lewisa, RissaMalfoy, I-Can't-Think-Of-A-Name-lol, Karana Belle, MeLiO, Lana, mir, Cassiel Oliviari, tearless, PiratesLuv22, NeVeRmInD2, frifri, Kadoate24, Exploded toilet bowl, Hermione-Granger-420, NitenGale, and lilpsycho14!**

Here's the chapter! Enjoy!

Be a Doll 

**Chapter 14: The Sleepover, Act I**

"Do you _have_ to wear these?"

"Yes. They are the only pajamas I have with pockets."

"But they're cold, and slippery. I might fall out. Or catch pneumonia."

"Malfoy if I cared, you'd have a hair full of gel right now."

"You must care, or I'd be dead."

"How do you know? Maybe I'm just torturing you by keeping you alive." She told him, grinning.

He ducked into her pocket, grumbling about 'stupid Mudbloods'.

It was October 31st, aka Halloween, aka The Night of The Sleepover. Over a month had passed since the last time we saw Hermione and her shrunken...um, 'friend', but the truth was not much had changed. Sometimes they were on good terms, sometimes they were on bad (though it was mostly bad), they still were always teasing each other, and more than once Malfoy had said something out loud causing her to lie without blinking.

So in other words, everything was perfectly normal.

Hermione was running around her bedroom, stuffing everything she would need into a large duffel bag. From her 'cold, slippery' pocket, Malfoy was questioning her about tonight.

"So what do girl's _do_ at sleepovers?" he asked while she grabbed up her entire collection of (unused) make up.

"Talk about you." She told him after a thought. Now where was that stupid talking mirror? She had hidden it somewhere, because it was so annoying, but where?

"About me?" he responded, sounding surprised.

"Yes, about you, you bothersome ferret. They are all madly in love with the devilishly handsome Draco Malfoy." She could just feel him smirking as she said this, so quickly added. "Their words, not mine.

His smirk didn't falter. "You're madly in love with me too, according to the Weaselette."

"Ginny only thinks I like you because I said you have nice eyes." She said distractedly.

There was a silence. "You think I have nice eyes?" If she wasn't mistaken, he sounded rather flattered.

"No, I don't. I was just joking and she took me seriously. Ginny doesn't know how to take a joke when it comes to boys." Hey, who knows, he might buy it.

"God Granger, nervous _and_ tense. If only I could see your eyes...don't worry, I think they're very nice too." He cackled, laughing at his own joke. "You should know by now that it's no use lying to me. I know you all too well."

"And I you." She said, telling herself to stop talking at start looking. Why waste her time on Malfoy anyway, she still need to find all of her extra, not broken (so in other words, the ones she'd never worn) pins, not to mention the mirror. If only she could remember where she had put them.

"Your annoying mirror is buried under my stuff." He said suddenly. At her shocked look he continued. "I didn't read your mind, I just hear the damn thing"

Hermione went into the top drawer of her night table, and sure enough there it was, shrilly singing a song about 'lovely, ice blue eyes'. She did everything in her power to keep from blushing, and threw it in the bag. One last trip to the bathroom, and she had found her pins as well. There was only one more thing to take care of now.

"Okay Malfoy," she addressed him, sitting down on the bed. "What do you do at the party?"

"Nothing. I listen to you and your freaky Gryffindor friends talk about me, but other than that, nothing." He replied boredly.

"Good. Now let's go." She put her robe on over her pajamas and crept into the halls. She had just barely taken a step out of the portrait hole when the thought hit him.

"Where are we going?"

If he could see her than, he would have seen her extra wide grin. "Draco, you're smart enough. Think of where a bunch of girls would go for a sleepover." She said sweetly.

"We're not going to the Gryffindor girl's dorms, are we?" He said, a note of panic in his tone.

"Nope. Even better."

"Where?"

"Somewhere."

"Where?!?"

"I told you, somewhere!"

"WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME WOMAN?!?!?!?"

"We're going to the Room of Requirment."

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It took him the entire way there to get it.

"So that room you guys were in in fifth year...that was the Room of Requiremnt?"

"Yes." Finally. She didn't think he was that stupid.

"And the room can be anything? Any type of room at all?" he asked unsurely.

"Any type of room, of course, as long as you need it. Now, be quiet, it's in the next hall."

Hermione turned a corner and saw Lavender and Parvati standing there, both of their arms full of stuff.

"Hi." She said quietly, walking up to them. "Where's Padma and Ginny?"

Parvati shrugged. "Padma quit on us at the last minute. She decided to go the feast instead." She gave Lavender a secret grin. "But she doesn't know what she's missing."

She tried not to let the way she said this bother her. '_Just because I don't know what's going on doesn't mean I'll be part of what Padma's missing._'

Lavender was talking now. "And Ginny is down in the kitchens. Luna's there too, helping her get the food."

This surprised her. "Luna's coming?" Well nobody had told her THAT!

"Yes. Ginny invited me." Came a dreamy voice from behind them. They turned and saw Ginny and Luna, with armloads of food, not to mention...broomsticks?!?

"What are the broomsticks for?" she demanded, trying to hide that she was scared. They didn't know that she couldn't fly, and she wanted to keep it that way. Malfoy was the only one who knew, and that was already risky, but for some reason she had the feeling she could trust him. No idea why, but it just seemed like he was at least a little bit nicer than he had been a month ago.

Hermione shook her head. _'No way.' _

"MIONE ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" Ginny asked loudly, knocking on her head. She swatted her away, and rubbed the spot where she hit her. The red head merely laughed. "Well _somebody's_ hostile. Would it be because she's been away from her love too long?" she teased, walking past her.

'_No. I've been feeding, brushing the hair of, and on one occasion tucking into bed (don't ask) this person I supposedly_ love _for the past 41 days!!_' her mind yelled. '_And he's driving me CRAZY!_'

But of course she didn't say that.

The five girls (and Malfoy) huddled together in front of where the room soon would be. "Okay, everyone knows how the room works, right?" Parvati asked, and they all nodded. "Good. And remember: think sleepover!"

They started to walk back and forth, all of their minds on what they needed. '_We need pillows. Lots and lots of big, soft, cushy pillows. Not to mention butterbeer. Mmm. And...teen magazines, the muggle kind. Ginny and Parvati will love it. Don't really know about Luna. What else?_' She suddenly felt bad for Malfoy. It was a little unfair how she was going to make him sit through this. But there was one thing she could get him.

A large door appeared in front of them. The five smile and pulled it open together.

When they saw it, their eyes lit up and they all ran into the room, squealing with delight. She looked around in awe. The room was big enough so that they would have plenty of room, but small enough to be cozy. Just as she requested, there was a mountain of gigantic plush pillows with pretty golden fringe. A stack of colorful of paper stood in the corner (obviously the magazines) and she wasn't the only one who had asked for butterbeer; there were about 30 bottles standing next to the pillows.

"We're gonna get drunk off of something with no alcohol!" Lavender giggled, setting down her stuff on the floor.

"I didn't know everyone asked for butterbeer, or I probably wouldn't have." Hermione said, pulling off her robe and lugging the bag of make up with her across the room.

"Ooooooh, those are pretty pajamas Mione, where'd you get them?" Parvati asked her, touching the silky material. They were bright red with purple cowboy boots, yellow and green sheriff stars splashed every here and there.

"It's a place called the store _Vati_." She answered, using a stupid nickname for her as well. Why should she be the only one called by the last few syllables of her name?

Parvati just laughed, and ran off to help Luna sort out the food.

"What's with the scarves?" Ginny questioned, pulling on one of the see-through sheets of material hanging down from the ceiling.

"I asked for those. Aren't they pretty? I think it makes the room calmer. Not to mention it'll keep away the Spike-Backed Marmots." Luna said (in a dreamy sense) reasonably, arranging some Cauldron Cakes.

Ginny turned away from her, muttering something along the lines of "That girl is such a weirdo...". Hermione stifled a laugh.

But Lavender interrupted her attempts at trying not to giggle. "Hey!" she called over to them. "Who asked for a Quidditch book?"

Hermione felt herself go red in the face. "Uh, t-that's mine." She stuttered, snatching the book away from Lavender. "I've taken up..._reading_ about Quidditch." Shoot. She hadn't wanted them to see it. The plan had been to just shrink it and slip it to the ferret. Now she was going to have to lie again. Another thing that hadn't changed was she wasn't any better at lying. Malfoy was even giving her 'Lying Lessons' now (his idea, not hers. He claimed that lying was the only thing he could still do as a person 3-inches tall). Not that they helped.

"Oh, you like Quidditch now?" Ginny inquired, brightening up a bit. "Maybe you could help me with this move then, Harry's been giving me a really hard time abou-"

"I meant the history Gin." She told her quickly. "You know, who invented it and stuff."

She became confused. "Then why is the book called 'Quidditch: Special Tricks and Moves' ?"

Hermione looked down at the cover. The letters seemed to be smiling at her, very happy that they were slowly tearing her apart. She wasn't so sure she was fond of letters any more.

She had to think fast. That had been yesterday's lesson. What had he said? Malfoy's little voice echoed in her ears:

"**Mudblood, if you ever want to be a good liar, you have to learn think fast. When lying, come up with something-anything- and say it, even if it seems far-fetched. But you have to think fast, or then they can tell you're lying. And you definitely don't want that."**

It actually was good advice, but she told herself never to remember his voice in her head again. Creepy.

"Oh, but it is about the history. Special, Tricks and Moves were the uh....NAMES of the people who invented Quidditch!" she proclaimed thickly. '_NO!!!!! That was DUMB! Good going you idiot._'

Everyone was staring at her. "What?"

"Yes." She heard herself go on. "Those were their names. Their nicknames anyway. You know, Mr...." she glanced around the room desperately. "Pill 'Special' Ow. Miss Dusty 'Tricks' Scarves and Mr. Lun..o 'Moves' Pat-sley."

Lavender looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yes, I'm very sure. Fascinating, isn't it?" She knew that she hadn't blinked for more than a minute.

The rest of them shrugged, and went back to their work. She sighed with relief. That had really been a close one.

Hunching over in corner, she stealthily pulled out her wand and tapped the book. "Reducio." She breathed. It shrank down small enough to fit into her palm. Closing her hand around it, she dipped her hand into her pocket, passing the book to Malfoy. "If you heard that then you know how much I went through to get it."

"Mmph." Was his only reply.

She was thinking about how that _better_ translate into some sort of thanks. Maybe something like, "Hermione, you are the most caring person I know, you're so smart and you think so fast and I am forever in your debt. You rule!"

Despite herself, she laughed. It looked like tonight was going to be interesting.

Again, I must say, if only she knew.

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Hermione groaned as she collapsed backwards onto one of the big pillows. "I don't think I've eaten so much in my entire life."

"Then I guess you don't want some of these caramel apple slices." Parvati said, happy to have them all to herself.

She popped back up. "Are you kidding? Gimme some of those, or I'll put you in detention for the rest of your life. And don't say I can't do that. I am Head Girl." She told her grinning, devouring an apple slice.

"Don't abuse your authority Miss Granger, I don't want to report you." Ginny said seriously, making them all break into giggles. Again.

They had been pigging out on all the little snacks brought up from the kitchen for almost an hour, and they still hadn't tired of it. Normally, Hermione would protest to such idiotic acts, but she had made a decision earlier that day: tonight was her night to be a girl. She felt like giggling over the stupidest thing? She would giggle. The others decided that she needed a makeover? She would let them give her a makeover. Because you know what? Sometimes it's nice to take a break from yourself.

And who gives a crap as to whether that makes sense or not?

"You know, we should do something." Lavender said suddenly.

"Yeah." Luna put in. "Something exciting. Something daring."

Why was it that this conversation sounded planned? Why was it that they were all giving each other little secretive looks?

Why was it that she was the only one not included in 'all'?

"I think," Ginny started, her smile widening with each passing second. "That it's time for The Rose Game."

"What's the rose game?" Hermione asked suspiciously. She didn't like the sound of that. This was usually the part of the sleepover horror movie that you find out your friends bodies had all been taken over by aliens, and that they had come to...well actually, she had no idea what the aliens came to do. Most of the time that was the exact place where she closed her eyes.

"Mione, it's not 'the rose game'. It's **T**he **R**ose **G**ame. You know." Parvati said, sounding oddly cheery. Unnaturally cheery.

"No, I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" she responded, backing away from her 'friends'. Realizing what she was doing, she ordered herself to scoot forward. '_Your friends are not aliens. Stop it this very second, or you might even make me believe it. Why must you always insist on scaring us?_'

"You don't know?" Parvati went on, looking a tad surprised, "Well, then I guess we have to explain, don't we girls?"

It was Ginny who was finally 'given the honor of passing the knowledge'. Hermione found herself wondering if it was possible to roll your eyes to death. Sometimes her friends were more dramatic than Malfoy.

"The Rose Game is an ancient test, made to-" Hermione cut her off.

"Ginny, cut the crap and tell me what I have to do."

She pouted. "You're no fun. But since we don't have much time..." she leaned forward excitedly, and started to quickly tell her everything.

"The point of the game is to get a rose up to the boy you like. You just have to place it on the end of his bed, but trust me, it is pretty hard. There are some consequences though. If he catches you for instance, then you must present it to him openly. Or if you tell us you did it if you didn't. The next time you see him, you'll start to uh..." she said the next part quietly. "Sing."

"Sing?"

"A ballad. It happened to me once." She got a sort of pained look on her face. "It wasn't pretty. But anyway..."

All of them gave her puppy dog eyes (Luna's looking very dreamy). "Will you play?"

There was one and only one reason that she was going to say yes: She didn't like anybody. They could use Veritiserum on her, and they'd find out the same thing. There was absolutely nothing they could do about it either. Unless they...

"Yes."

Shoot. Too late now. She already said it. But maybe she could still...

Lavender, Parvati and Ginny all started doing some sort of 'we-made-Hermione-play-a-stupid-game' dance. And they were squealing.

Now there was no hope. You couldn't take something back after people had already started squealing about it.

It simply wasn't done.

Another thought hit her smack between the eyes, something else she should have asked about before saying yes.

"You guys?" she asked steadily.

"Yes?"

"How are we getting up to the boy's rooms?" Please don't let it be what she thought.

It was Luna who answered. "Through their windows of course."

The color drained for her face. "And how exactly will we do that?" she squeaked.

"With broomsticks."

It was right then, for the first time in her life that Hermione truly felt like a girl. In the sense that she was going to die because of a boy, that is. But this was because she was almost positive that she was going to fall off the broom and crack her head open.

SHE COULDN'T FLY.

Ginny interrupted her plans for what songs to play at the funeral. "We all know who _Mione's_ gonna leave her rose for." She said overly sweetly, poking her in the side.

She gave her a thin-lipped smile. "Yes we do. Absolutely no one." Ha. Ha, ha, ha. She couldn't make her go now.

Lavender rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to deny it. We all know you like him. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Parvati and Ginny both gave her a Look.

Luna turned to Ginny. "Who?"

"Oh. Hermione likes Malfoy." Ginny stated, like it was official.

Luna nodded approvingly. "They make a good couple."

Hermione was more than shocked. Even Luna, for God's sake, LOONEY LOVEGOOD, just took this news like it was nothing. How could they do this? This just wasn't right. They were supposed to believe her. '_I mean, gosh, does it even vaguely seem like I like him?_ She opened her mouth to protest, but they had already moved on to Parvati.

"And who will Miss Patil give her rose too?" Ginny said playfully. Lavender had a look on her face that clearly said, 'Ooooh, she's not going to like this,' while Parvati had a hand pressed over her mouth, her face becoming a little pink.

"Your brother!" she burst out finally, starting to giggle like mad.

All at once, she and Ginny both got a horrible look on their faces. "Ron?!?" Hermione shouted. "But he's...he's Ron! How could you like him? That's just..." she didn't know what to make of this.

"Disgusting!" Ginny finished for her. "How could you have a crush on my idiot of a brother? That's just wrong Vati, I can't believe you."

Parvati stopped her fit of laughter for a moment, shrugging. "What can I say, he's cute, don't you think?"

"EWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the red head shrieked, shooting almost across the room at this comment. "No, my brother is NOT CUTE! He's ugly! Ugly, ugly, ugly!!!! He's all freckly and tall, and skinny..." From what she could see, Ginny seemed to be taking this rather harshly.

"He's the boy version of you." Lavender pointed out reasonably.

"Well then I'm ugly, aren't I?" she grumbled, folding her head into her arms. Hermione got up and dragged her back across the floor, ignoring her protests.

"Ginny, it's not that bad." She told her, patting her friend on the back. "And this way everything works out, you can got with Parvati when you give your rose to Harry." The next thing she knew, Ginny's face was back up, looking horrified. Everyone was looking at the two of them in shock.

"Mione?"

"Yes?" Oh gosh, she hadn't meant to do that.

"I didn't happen to mention the fact that I still like Harry to everyone else." Instead of her usual blushing, she was turning a little green. For a moment she wondered if she would be okay, but then Ginny shook her head and gave a weak laugh.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. They would have found out either way. And I guess it is a little reassuring that I don't have to go alone, you know?" She told her, shrugging. Hermione smiled. Thank goodness Ginny was so forgiving.

"What about Luna?" Parvati cut in nosily. "She hasn't told us who she likes yet."

"What about me?" Lavender whined, "You didn't ask _me_."

Parvati rolled her eyes at her friend. "Lavender, you've been going out with Dean Thomas since the middle of last year. Who else would you give your rose to?"

Lavender giggled. "Oh come on. You guys know I'm just kidding. Now let's hear it Luna."

The Ravenclaw didn't hesitate. "Colin." She hummed simply, her eyes clouding up a bit.

"CREEVY?!?" They yelled back at her together, disgusted. '_She did NOT just say that..._'

She ran her wand through her hair. "Yes. He's so...different. Isn't he just perfect?" Her voice was normal sounding for once, not one touch of dreaminess in it. Hermione supposed that this was her way of talking about her, um, _object of affection_. She still couldn't get over her choice. Who would have ever suspected that Luna Lovegood would have a crush on Colin Creevy?

Well actually when you thought about it that way, it made sense. In a weird, horribly sickening kind of way that is.

Focusing back on her friends, she found that Luna was still talking (undreamily) about Colin. "...and he's a leader, not a follower. Always going with what he likes and not caring about what other people think of him-" Ginny came out of her stupor and interrupted her.

"Luna, it's his fault that I was in the Hospital Wing for almost a month!!!" she screamed.

"So he made a mistake. It shows he's human." She said defensively, folding her arms across her chest.

She had a feeling that this was going to take a while.

123123123123123123123123123123

_A little bit later, after this had been sorted out_

"There is absolutely no way that I'm going first. You can just forget it. I'd rather face the consequences." Hermione fumed stubbornly.

"But you have to. Me, Lavender and Parvati are all going to the same room, but Luna needs the broom, because she's going to a different window." Ginny said.

"Exactly! You all get to go together, and you leave me to go to Malfoy's room alone!" she exclaimed, tossing her hands into the air. "It's unfair! Because then I have to fl-" She stopped. Did she really want them to come with her? '_I won't even have a second to talk to Malfoy._'

'**Oh, that's so cute. You would give up the company of your friends to talk to him.'**

'_WHAT? No! I just meant that I need to check on him! He could be dead for all I know.'_

'**I'm sure he appreciates your concern.'**

'_I am not concerned! The only reason I'd care if he was dead is because then it would be blamed on me. I'm supposed to be taking care of him, remember?'_

'**Sure. Admit it, you pathetic little freak. You like talking to him.'**

'_Shut up. And don't call me pathetic, because you _are_ me.'_

Suddenly Lavender was talking her. "Actually Hermione, there is one thing that we could give you, if you want to feel safer. We weren't going to use it for this game, but since you have to go alone, I guess you could wear it."

Wear it? What could she wear so that she could feel safe?

Lavender went into Parvati's bag and pulled out a very familiar looking silvery cloak.

She gasped. "You STOLE the Invisibility Cloak?!?" Another thought hit her. "You KNOW about the Invisibility Cloak?"

"First of all, of course we know about the cloak." Ginny laughed at her puzzled look. "Ron talks really loud, in case you didn't notice. I think my entire family knows about it. And second of all, we didn't _steal_ it. We _borrowed_ it. So do you want to wear it or not?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't really think I have a choice. How are you planning to get it back in Harry's trunk?"

"Same way we got it out. I pretend to fall off my broom during Quidditch practice, Harry carries me to the Hospital Wing," Was it just her, or did it look like Ginny liked that part? "Lavender keeps Neville, Dean, Seamus busy, because of course Ron followed us to Madam Pomfrey's. Then Parvati sneaks up there, and TA-DA!" She made a gigantic sweeping motion with her hands. "It's back. Simple enough isn't it?"

It was also surprisingly simple to sneak out of the castle. Soon the five were outside in the cold October night, shivering under their robes. Hermione gave a final wave to her friends and swept the Invisibility Cloak over her head.

Now only one minor detail to address.

"Malfoy," she whispered desperately as she stared at the broom in fright. "I need help."

A/N: It's still pretty long I know, but at least it wasn't as boring (well, less than chappie 13 anyway). Hope you guys liked this chapter better. Don't kill me about the R. of R; I know that's not exactly how it works. But for the sake of my story it does, okey-dokey?

So, REVIEW! Please?


	15. The Sleepover, Act II and a half

A/N: Hullu people! I really needed to get this chapter out, cause I couldn't wait any longer! This is shorter than my usual chappies, so I've decided that it's Chapter 15 and a ½. Then again, how could you ask for more, I have a couple million mountains of homework (but still I do not have a life, don't worry readers)!

But also since I have plenty of space, I'll respond to your reviews which I haven't done for 2 chapters (gasp!):

**NeVeRmInD2**: More like MWAHAHAHAHAHA- I mean cough.

**slytherinpunk**: Sorry Hermione's friends aren't in this chapter, but when they come back, you'll see how crazy they _really_ are.

**I-Can't-Think-Of-A-Name-lol**: Aye-aye, reviewer!

**Karana Belle**: Hope you like this chappie! Guess you could call it exciting...

**MeLiO**: Well no, but you might see her singing soon!

**NitenGale**: Thanks for reading all my fics, and yup I am a girl BTW.

**iluvwriting**: ADDING ONING!

**lilpsycho14**: Malfoy finally realizes that he has to shut up every once in a while...but not for long.

**mir:** Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like this chapter.

**Cassiel Oliviari**: Reviews! And the rose causes Hermione quite a bit of trouble...

**anonymous**: Well Chapter 15 and a 1/2 will leave you in even more suspense, so be warned..

**Exploded toilet bowl**: Hehe, funny.

**RissaMalfoy**: Yup, Hermione will be flying (sorta) through the night sky. Let's just hope she survives.

**ydidthechickenxtheroad**: Thanks, and cool name!

**frifri**: Hi! Glad you finally got around to reading. I finally emailed your sister BTW, it's pretty phony.

**Smiles**: I hope you like this!

And now...

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 15 1/2: The Sleepover, Act II (and a ½, I suppose)**

He didn't answer.

"Malfoy! Please, I'm...gosh, I don't even know what I am any more, just help me!" Hermione squeaked, gnawing on her bottom lip viciously. Why? Wasn't? He? Answering?!?

Then there was a rummaging in her pocket. "Granger, I can't believe you lied to me." Came his silky voice. "They hardly talked about me at all. And I didn't know the Weaselette liked Potter..."

Relief flooded her at the sound of this voice. '_Alive: check. All I have to do now is get him to help me._'

"You know Malfoy, any other time I would just _love_ to have this conversation with you, but right now I need to focus on something else." She said quickly, not even managing to sound sarcastic.

"Yes, I know. You have to fly up to my room in order to deliver a rose as an expression of you love. Very cute Hermione, but I'm not really interested." He drawled.

"I can't fly, and you know it." She mumbled, in case her friends were still nearby.

"What was that? You can't fly? Three words Granger: I. Don't. Care. There it is for you in black and white."

Alright, so maybe so needed to try a different approach.

"Do you know what will happen if I attempt to fly without knowing how?" she started slowly. When he didn't say anything, she went on. "That's right. I'll fall off and kill myself. Before you say even one more word, I want you to listen to this next sentence very carefully." She paused for dramatic effect. "**If I try to fly, not only will I fall off the broom, but so will _the person in my pocket_.** Get it?"

Her words hung in the air, bringing a long silence. Finally he spoke. "Suddenly, I feel compelled to help you. You're lucky I'm so kind."

She grinned. "Thank you."

He didn't know how to respond to that. "Uh, you're...welcome?" Going back to normal, he began. "Okay, Flying 101. First of all, it would help if you were on the broom. Really it would."

Ignoring that bit of sarcasm, she swung one of her legs up over the broom, gripping it tightly with both hands. There. All set.

"What-what are you doing?!?" he spluttered.

"I am sitting on the broom. You told me to, remember Malfoy?" she shot back icily. Honestly, if he wasn't going to help her...

"One: It's Professor Draco. Two: you can't sit on it like that. That's how Seekers sit. Unless you know what you're doing you'll hurt yourself. Get off and I'll tell you how to sit." He said patiently, like he was talking to a little kid.

"What? No way! That's how Harry sits and he never hurt himself." Under her breath she added. "That bad."

"Tell me Granger, what position does Potter play?"

"Mmph."

"That's right. He plays Seeker. Now get off the bloody broom already." Malfoy went on. She was sure that if he had been his right size, he would have pushed her onto the ground by now. '_Then again, if he was his normal size, would he be at the sleepover?_'

She reluctantly stepped off grumbling. "Telling me how to SIT, like I'm a complete idiot of something..."

"Stop muttering under your breath, for I, Professor Draco, find it annoying." Hermione could tell this was just this was only the beginning of the teasing. "Next instruction: position the broom so that the brush part is on the ground, and have the handle up at a 45 degree angle."

"I _know_ that." She growled darkly, clenching her fist.

"Then DO IT, you stubborn know-it-all!" he retorted. "You asked me to help you and now you keep attacking me when I do! Does nothing please you?"

She supposed he had a point. She could at least try to be grateful. After all, he was doing her a huge favor. Even if it was just to save his skin. "You're right. I'm sorry Malfoy."

"Well I'm not. Now let's get on with this.

A few minutes later, Hermione was all set. Her hands were on the right part of the handle, she was sitting correctly (even though 'Professor Draco' still insisted her left hip was jutting out), and even her feet were the perfect distance away from each other for a good take-off. Now if only she could do that.

"Great. You're in position. Push off the ground, and we'll be off!" Malfoy said, not bothering to hide his excitement.

Then came her voice, which seemed cracked and frightened. "I can't."

He was dumbfounded. "What?!? Why can't you?" he yelled exasperatedly. "You're perfect! Everything is right! Just push off the ground!!!"

"I can't." she repeated, sounding slightly teary "I'll fall off and kill myself. I can't do this."

"Yes, you um...can?" he told her uncertainly. Damn it, he had never been good at comforting people, or pep talks for that matter. What else were you supposed to say at times like this? He then remembered. "I believe in you!" he declared, before realizing what he was doing.

'**That's it Draco. There went your last shred of dignity. We're done now. HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?!?!?'**

'_Well, I had to say something. Malfoy's always take action.'_

'**So? You didn't have to say that. Anything but that. We can never show our face again.'**

'_Granger's right. I am dramatic.' _He sneered at himself

'**So I'm dramatic. It's not a crime. But if you want to "take action" I can help in that department.'**

If possible, he smirked inwardly_'Enlighten me...'_

Meanwhile, Hermione was still going on about how she "...can't do this, I'm going to be killed Draco, please you understand, don't you, you're very understanding, well sometimes, aren't you?" Fortunately for him, he had tuned her out long ago, so not only was her blubbering useless, but unheard. Right now, he was buys telling himself a plot so dastardly, he was surprised that he had thought of it himself.

'_Hmmm, I never knew I was_ that _much of a genius. Wonderful plan._'

'**It is good, isn't it? It seems nothing is improbable for us. We are the most intelligent wizard at Hogwarts, you know.'**

There was a silence.

'_Was it just me, or did that sentence sound oddly familiar?'_

'**Yeah, it did. I wonder why?'**

Putting these thoughts out of his head, Draco stared intently at his target. _'Knowing where to strike is the key to these types of things.'_ When there was no response, he said, louder this time, _'Hello? Aren't you going to say something witty now? Or anything at all?'_

'**What, are you talking to me? You're on your own now kid, I just wanna watch.'**

Making a face at himself, he leaned forward and...

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Hermione was mentally shoved of her trance when she felt sharp little teeth digging into her side.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!!!" she shrieked, pushing her feet off the ground by instinct, sending her into the air. For a moment, she was paralyzed. She was in the air, going higher and higher and higher up, not knowing what to do next. Her common sense finally came through to her _'LEAN FORWARD HERMIONE, DON'T GO ANY HIGHER!'_

Quickly, she pressed her body closer to broom. All at once, she started to swiftly glide forwards and had she stopped going up. The wind whipped around her, chilling her even more, but giving her an uplifting feeling. She was soaring. It might have been enjoyable had she not had to go murder someone right now.

"You bit me!" she cried, rubbing her side. "I can't believe it! You BIT me!!!"

"I did?" he purred innocently. "Oh I'm _so sorry_dearest, but you just looked so delicious-"

"MALFOY. Why did you BITE me?" she demanded, really not in the mood for playing 'Let's-Pretend-We-Like-Each-Other'. This could be the last conversation she ever had, and if it must be with him then she might as well use it to clear a few things up.

"What kind of reason are you looking for?" he asked playfully, obviously not understanding how serious the situation was.

"The kind of reason I am _**looking for**_ is the reason that does not include you fake-flirting with me!" she barked, becoming frustrated, "Do you ever take anything seriously?"

He was quiet for a moment at this question. "Of course I do. Just because I'm not freakishly stuffy, or as you would call it 'mature', like you does not mean I'm unserious. You need to live." He huffed, pulling his robe tighter around his shoulders.

"We're seventeen. I'm suppose to be mature." She replied, ducking as an owl whizzed by her head.

"Correction: _you_ are seventeen. I, on the other hand, am only sixteen. Practically a child."

"There is a big difference between child-_like_ and carefree and being child_ish_ and a baby."

"I'm not a baby." He grumbled, pouting a bit.

Silence.

"I only bit you so you'd get off the ground. Or else we would have been sitting there all night." He offered finally, as if to prove he could be serious.

"Oh. I guess you figured it was the only way to help me at the time. All I can say is you better not have left a mark. What would the others think if I had microscopic Malfoy teeth on my hip?" she had the last part jokingly, like showing him she could be funny.

He smirked. "Did I mention that Professor Draco is also a doctor? I can do a get-that-bit-mark-off-your-hip surgery for the low price of 20 kazillion galleons."

Laughing, she started to say something but immediately stopped when she spotted something. "Malfoy?"

"Hmm?"

"I need a crash course on how to land." She motioned to her balcony, which was coming into view. From her pocket she felt him jump. "Lord that balcony's small." He murmured simply, trying to word out how exactly this has going to work. "That'd be hard for even me."

Hermione's blood ran cold. She would never say it, but he seemed to be really good at flying. And she, who had just gotten on a broom after six years, was supposed to do this. How was she going to manage-He interrupted her thoughts.

"Descend!" he yelped frantically, pulling on her robe. "Start right now or you won't make it!!!"

Out of fear, she slanted the broom quickly, sending her zooming towards the platform headfirst. But something was wrong. She wasn't _supposed_ to be gathering speed, was she?

Then it hit her. "We're going faster!!" she cried, trying to halt the broom, but without luck.

"I know!" she heard him shout over the wind. "This shouldn't be happening, there's something wrong with the broom!! Maybe you could still land though. It's either that or..." he didn't need to finish that sentence. They both knew it was either do or die.

"I'll try." She told him uneasily, though not entirely sure of herself. "But Malfoy in case we don't make it out of this, I just wanted you to know that...thatthispastmonthhasn'tbeensobadandyou'reactuallykindaokay."

"What?" he was genuinely confused.

"Nothing." Hermione said, feeling crushed for a reason she couldn't explain. She could see every detail on the balcony's railing, looming closer and closer to them...

"Goodbye." They whispered to each other, squeezing their eyes shut. The last thing she heard was a loud crash, echoing in her ears.

Then everything went black.


	16. The Sleepover, Act III

Disclaimer: Not only do I not own Harry Potter, but I don't own Wicked either. Sometimes I wonder if the world is ever on my side.

A/N: Hey, hey, hey peeps! I know, I have sure taken my own sweet time writing this, but I knew that it had to be perfect for you guys. You don't even want to know how many rewrites I did of this chapter. Really you don't. This has got to be the most pick-at thing I've ever written, so be grateful you got it after only two weeks (Teehee, just kidding you guys!).

This is the last chapter of the sleepover. It was shorter than I thought it would be too, but a whole lot of things happen in this chap. What some ignorant people don't know is that if they actually take time to read this author's note, then they are going sneak peek of this chapter, and here it is: Some interesting dreams, the consequences of The Rose Game and what's this? Draco _caring_? That's definitely a first!

I am going to be in big trouble if I don't go back to my homework soon, so I'm just going to say a big ol' THANKS!!! To everyone who reviewed. And here are the wonderful people!: **NeVeRmInD2, lilpsycho14, iluvwriting, Exploded toilet bowl, RissaMalfoy, kay345, tigerlily727, NitenGale, Karana Belle, D/HR SHiPPER, Hermione-Granger-420, That Other Girl, Kitty The Hitwoman, frifri, MeLiO, chicklepea, and Alenor! Woot to them!**

Now I'm being dragged away from the computer, so here's Chapter 16!

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 16-ish-ness: The Sleepover, Act III**

_The girl was crying joyfully into his shoulder, her familiar voice softly saying "You never left."..._

Draco cringed as he opened his eyes, even though he could see nothing. Panic rose within him. He couldn't have gone blind, could he? His head was throbbing painfully, pumping loudly in his ears. Well, at least it was a sign that they worked. He then stuck a hand out in front of him - only to see the thin outline of it against the fabric of the robe. Breathing a sigh of relief, he relaxed for a moment. He mustn't rush.

Finally, he began to pull himself out of the pocket, preparing himself for what he may see out there. He didn't know if Granger was alive or not, or if she had come out of the crash whole. Actually, he wasn't sure if he had come out of the crash whole. All he knew was that they had landed and now he hurt. A lot. 'That's no reason to panic.' He told himself, trying to calm down. 'I'm sure we're both fine.'

He stepped out and gasped at what he saw, his eyes growing wide in shock.

It was Granger's bedroom.

'But this isn't possible. How did we end up here?' He felt a cool breeze blowing over him, and turned to see that the balcony doors were wide open. 'Well, I guess that makes sense, wait, no it doesn't! We never leave that door open. Never...' his thoughts trailed off, as he suddenly remembered that there were more important things to think about right now.

He did a quick check of himself. One un-broken nose, two eyes that worked, two ears, one mouth with all teeth in place, and on and one until he was certain that the crash hadn't done any serious damage. _'Good. Now to check on-'_

Then he saw it. The mess was by her bed, looking very out of place for something in her room. At first, he didn't know what it was. All he saw were little bits and pieces of wood scattered all over the floor next to the broom, which had been spilt almost in half. But then he saw things that looked familiar amongst the ruins-a small square of material, a...pillow? A bedpost? What was all this, and why was it-oh no.

Realization smacked him hard, making his knees give way. Draco stared in disbelief. No. Why him, why always him? This wasn't fair. Not only was he 3 inches tall, tagging along with his worst enemy at all times, almost just killed in a broom accident but did this really have to happen? DID THE DAMN BROOM REALLY HAVE TO SMASH HIS BED?!? Where was the justice? Where was the-

The sound of raspy breathing interrupted his thoughts. He whipped his head around to Granger, who was strewn on the floor, unconscious. Her arms, face and legs were beginning to show long red marks, probably burns from when she slid across the carpet. Her ankle seemed twisted out of place, and he was almost positive that it was broken. He had the sudden urge to run around screaming _'Hermione's hurt, somebody save her!!!'_, but smacked himself for even thinking that. _'That's stupid. Not to mention impossible that anyone would hear me, considering my size.'_

He walked over to her body and pressed a small hand to her cheek. She was freezing, just barely warm enough to be alive. Could someone lose body heat so fast? That definitely wasn't a good sign.

Climbing up her arm quickly, he set his head down to her chest to check for a heartbeat. For a moment he got scared because he couldn't hear anything, but soon there came a soft thumping. Very soft. Too soft. That was it. He _had _to wake her up, no matter what.

First he tried talking directly into her ear. She was always complaining how much it tickled, but it didn't get her up. She didn't move even a little bit. Next he tried kicking her while shouting (really rather lame) threats. "Stupid." Kick. "Mudblood." Kick. "As. Soon." Kick. "As. You. Get. Up." Kick. "You. Will." Kick. "Pay. For." Kick. "Making me do this." Kick, kick, kick. All this did was leave black shoe marks all along her jawline.

There was only one thing left to do.

He scampered up onto Granger's face. Taking one last gulp of air he leaned over near her mouth and...

Started to slap the end of her nose, grumbling under his breath as he did so. "I hate it when people think that kissing someone will wake them up. I am Draco Malfoy, defender of all things un-cliched." After a pause he added. "I have no idea why I just said that."

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_She threw her arms around the boy's neck, completely losing herself in his wonderful scent. Tears of sheer happiness poured out of her and she found he was crying too. "Hermione." He whispered, his voice sounding amazed, "I'm back."_

The pain hit Hermione dead on when she awoke, making her want to slip back into unconsciousness. At least then she couldn't feel it. This aching was unbearable. But something was wrong. From what she remembered, Heaven was not supposed to hurt.

A little voice in her head went. "Oh you stupid Mudblood, don't you get it? Get up before next Christmas!" Hmm, that was strange. Why in the world would she even call herself a Mudblood? The only one who ever did that was-

"This isn't funny anymore, you get it Hermione?! I'm serious, if you wake up, I'll call you by your first name if you want, I really will. And I'll buy you candy and flowers and books and more books and I'll be nice to Potter and everything!!! I'll do whatever the hell you want, just WAKE UP!"

That voice wasn't in her head. It was on her face. It was _Malfoy_.

Her eyes shot open. Everything was blurry for a moment making her dizzy, but then all was clear._ 'From what I remember, Heaven isn't supposed to look like my bedroom either.'_ Ignoring the thousands of questions flooding her mind at the moment, she stared down at her nose where an ever-growing pain was forming: she saw him slapping her, sitting right above her upper lip.

He stopped at looked at her. For a mere second a mixed look of happiness and relief flashed over his face, but it was quickly replaced by his normal bored glance. "Good morning." He drawled. Funny how one moment he could be almost in tears because she was unconscious and the next acting like it wasn't possible for him to care. This was- **WAIT**. He was there?!? That had to mean that...

"Malfoy. We're..._alive_?" she breathed, her mind suddenly feeling numb. Was this possible? Was it true?

He hopped off of her face and sat cross-legged near her shoulder. "Well this certainly isn't Heaven, since you're here."

Those had to be the most beautiful words she had ever heard. Every single one had been stripped of its sarcasm and nastiness before they reached her ears. In one quick movement she was off the floor, not caring that this made her hurt even more. Who cares about pain when you're alive?!?

"WE'RE ALIVE!!!" Hermione shrieked at him, snatching him up. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS???????"

"That we're alive?" he scoffed, rolling his eyes at her.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEE-ES IT MEANS WE'RE ALIVE!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? HAVE ANY BETTER WORDS REACHED THOSE RICH BOY EARS IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!!!???!!!!!" She then collapsed onto her bed, sinking into the blankets. The warmth of them made her feel drowsy with joy. "Doesn't it just want to make you scream?"

"I already did that quite a bit, thank you very much. Trying to get an unconscious rock like you up must have been the hardest thing I've ever done."

"Shut up." She bubbled happily, giving him a squeeze around the middle. "I'm trying to celebrate."

"Why are you celebrating? We were almost killed!" he exclaimed, flapping his arms around wildly.

"Right. But we weren't killed, and that's what counts."

"So it doesn't matter that you have extreme rug burn, your ankle is possibly broken and that you have no idea how that door got open, even though it's what saved our lives?"

"Nope. You wanna make something of it?"

He shrugged. "Not if you don't want to. It's just that that's positively OoC of you."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?"

Malfoy shrugged again, looking a little confused himself. "That's the second time I've said something for no reason tonight. Do you think the crash messed me up in the head?"

She laughed. "I don't think you want me to answer that." Suddenly, she remembered something. Reaching into her pocket, out came a squashed red object-the rose, which had gotten them into this mess in the first place. She sat up very straight and presented it to him, fanning out her hands elegantly. "This is for you Mal-er, Draco. For surely you are the world's most helpful ferret."

He took it and gave an over-done bow, not managing to hide his grin. "Are you just 'presenting it to me openly' because you want to, or have you also noticed my bed has been smashed?"

She grinned as well. "Both."

And it was then that they knew for certain that everything would be okay.

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"Okay, I'm still confused...why did it take so long again?"

"Because. The broom ran amuck after it tossed me in the lake." Hermione explained for the 50 millionth time. She had come up with a lie as she flew down from her room, and it was believable for once. Okay, so Malfoy helped a little bit, but it was her idea for the most part. Really it was.

"But if it threw you in the lake then why are you dry?" questioned Lavender, accidentally pulling too hard on Parvati's hair, making her yelp. "Sorry, but braiding is hard when your listening to a story."

"Then do one or the other!" she shot back, slinking out of her friend's grasp. "Luna can you braid my hair?" Hermione really didn't want to see how that turned out, so she went back to talking to Ginny and Lavender.

"So how did you escape the giant squid?" Ginny asked her. "Actually, hold on. Pink or purple?" she had just gotten out a few colors of self-applying nail polish, after insisting that Hermione was in desperate need of a manicure.

"Pink." She muttered, wanting to go with whatever would be less noticeable. As the thin brush began to swish across her nails, she came up with an entirely new fib. She had forgotten about the giant squid actually. "Well, the giant squid didn't bother me, because I found some...chocolate in Malfoy's room. Squid's like chocolate you know. Common knowledge." She told then matter-of-factly.

Luna looked over at them. "Where'd you find the chocolate? Why would he just leave it out like that?" she asked dreamily.

"Yeah Her-my-oh-nee, where did you find the chocolate? You did say he left after the first couple weeks of school. There's no way there would still be anything out." Parvati said. Then her whole face lit up and she gave her a sly smile. "Oh, I get it. Someone's a little obsessed." She teased.

_'Luna Lovegood, you will never see the light of day again. The second we're alone, I'm going to murder you. Not even your extreme weirdness will stop me now. Beware...'_

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about Parvati." She said sweetly, giving the girl a thin-lipped smile. Stupid people, stupid girly friends making stupid girly assumptions, in all their stupidity.

Ginny caught on. Her eyes grew wide with realization. "I can't believe you went through his things, you do like him! I didn't think you'd ever do something like that."

"W-what?!? I don't like him, and I didn't go through his things! The box of chocolates was just sitting there on the table!" she declared. She prayed they didn't notice she hadn't been blinking for the past few centuries.

"Yeah right, Mione. How stupid do you think we are?" Lavender put in, completely ignoring what she had just said. "It's okay anyway, stop denying it. We already told you that. I mean, he's hot _and_ smart. He's meant for you. And like Luna said before, you make the most adorable couple."

"It's so sweet." Parvati cooed. "But it's alright, we know your lying, so forget that for now. There is another matter to address at the moment."

She stopped screaming into a pillow and lifted her head, confused. "And what would that be exactly?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. She knew a plan when she saw one and this definitely was another one of those 'we-are-going-to-make-poor-unfortunate-Hermione-do-something-girly' things again, she could tell.

"Well Malfoy wasn't there when you left the rose, so it wasn't _really_ a challenge. All you had to do was fly up to his room." Parvati continued. She of course did not notice that Hermione was banging her head against the wall.

"So, eh, while you were gone we kind of made a decision." Ginny finished sheepishly, capping the nail polish even though it had only finished seven of her nails. She took this as a sign that they were very serious about it. There was no other way Ginny would let her run around with an incomplete manicure.

"What do I have to do?" she asked bravely, though inside she felt meek and ready to break down. Talk about a crazy night. What were they going to make her do now? Of course, they didn't know that she had almost died a couple of hours ago. Then they may have been a little less cruel. Hopefully.

"You have to sing the ballad." Someone said, trying to sound sympathetic, but breaking out into giggles. Hermione's eyes popped open, though she didn't know they were closed.

"I have to WHAT?!?" she yelped, almost fainting from surprise. "Wh-No! No, I'm not doing it, you can just forget it! No, and that's final."

"Sorry, but you have to." Lavender said, giving her a sad smile. "When you say that your going to play The Rose Game, you have to go through with all the parts. And if the boy is not there, then you have to sing a ballad."

She sat there, helpless. It made sense. That was the basic rule of any slumber party game. The only thing wrong was that they didn't happen to mention this before, but that wasn't necessarily something they had to do. There was no way out of it, she was just going to have to sing the dumb ballad. The worst part was that Malfoy was right in her pocket, so she would never hear the end of it. Ah, well. Now was her chance to see if it was actually possible to die of embarrassment.

'**Oh please, you can handle this one, you idiot. Think. What is the definition of a ballad?'** For a moment she wondered if Malfoy was talking to her again, but then realized she was asking herself that question.

_'Well, a ballad is a sort of song you sing about how you feel about someone-'_

'**Stop. Right there. How you feel about someone. Do you feel anything in particular about Malfoy?'**

_'What that's supposed to mean? I hate him. I despise him. I loathe...hold on, I get what you mean! Gosh, I'm smart.'_ She thought happily, an evil grin beginning to show on her face.

'**Yes, I am.'**

_'But what should I sing?'_

'**Since we're on the subject of loathing, why don't you go from there?'**

She was stunned. _'Wow. When I'm good, I'm good.'_

'**Yes, I am.'**

_'Okay, now you're just being annoying.'_

"So you guys want me to sing about how I FEEL about a certain Mr. Dra-co Mal-foy?" she said, sounding unnaturally uplifted, her eyes almost glowing in excitement. If this didn't show them, then nothing would. This was her chance.

The resounding cry of, "She's going to do it!" filled the room, and they all crowded around her, nodding eagerly. Luna had even stopped braiding Parvati's hair for the moment (it was coming out quite good actually) to hear the song. _'Oh they'll get a song alright, it's a nice song too....'_

"What are you going to sing? Is this made up or it is from something?" Ginny questioned.

"Well it's from this musical...but I won't say anything else or it might live it away. Secrecy you know." Without waiting for an answer, Hermione took a deep breath, and began to hum the introduction to herself. Her voice was light and airy, all around very sweet sounding. The first part of the song was soft, but the words were quick, and bumbling around in her throat as she started to sing:

_What is this feeling,  
So sudden and new?  
I felt it the moment  
I laid eyes on you_

_My pulse is rushing  
My head is reeling_

_My face is flushing  
Oh, what is this feeling?_

_Fervid as a flame,  
Does it have a name?  
Yeeeeeeeees...._

The other's were totally eating this up. All of the girl's eyes were practically tearing, thinking about how much she must LUUUUUV Malfoy. Well. They were going to see how much she loved him. Her voice suddenly grew louder and fierce, and she set a sting into every word:

**Loathing!**  
_Un-ad-ult-er-ated loathing  
For your face  
Your voice  
Your clothing  
Let's just say - I loathe it all_

_Ev'ry little trait, however small  
Makes my very flesh begin to crawl_

_With simple utter loathing  
There's a strange exhilaration  
In such total detestation  
It's so pure and strong!_

_Though I do admit it came on fast  
Still I do believe that it can last  
And I will be loathing  
Loathing you  
My whole life long!_

Now that they had seen where this was going, she decided to have a little fun with it. The look of pure shock on their faces was just too good to pass up. Taking the last part up an octave and in a slightly different key, she belted out, even louder this time:

**_Loathing!_**

_There's a strange exhilaration_

_In such total detestation_

_It's so pure, so strong!_

_Though I do admit it came on fast  
Still I do believe that it can last  
And I will be loathing  
Loathing you_

_Just loathing, loathing you  
My whooooooooooooole_

_liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife_

_looooooooooooooooong!_

She finished, as they say, with a bang. This was mostly because the girls had fallen over onto the ground, all four of them. Hermione, on the other hand, was sitting there the largest grin in the world on her face. Her bang was from the little fireworks going off in her head, in celebration.

Victory was sweet.

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It came as no surprise to her that the party went on until 3 o'clock in the morning. Luckily tomorrow (actually today) was Saturday, so they didn't have to worry about sleeping late.

For a while, Hermione really did want to go bed, but she just couldn't get settled, even amongst the huge pillows. Every time she lay down images of a certain blonde Slytherin grinning at her rather charmingly filled her head. It was disturbing, annoying, unexplainable, annoying, probably a result of too much butterbeer, annoying and above all it was annoying.

She finally knew that she had to go back to her dorm. Leaving a note for Ginny, she silently packed up her things and left the room, but not before burning that night into her memory forever. Whether she wanted to remember it because it was horrible or wonderful was beyond her, but either way it was important.

Once back in the common room she spread out on the couch closest to the fire: if she went into her room, she would probably feel like she'd have to clean up the mess she made earlier. It was too early in the morning for cleaning. Opening the pocket of her robe slightly, she peeked inside. "Malfoy, are you awake?" she whispered.

"Of course I'm awake. I've been awake." He yawned grumpily, crawling out of the pocket. "Well, I fell asleep for a while. But I'm awake now. Why are we back in here?" he asked, looking around.

She sighed and closed her eyes for a second. "I couldn't sleep. But now I'm...really tired." She told him, yawning in the middle of her sentence. She didn't feel all that well. It was probably because she ate too much. It was too early in the morning to worry about how much you ate though. So instead, she patted at spot by her head. "C'mere. You shouldn't sleep in my pocket, I'll squish you."

"You'll squish me if I sleep there too." He protested, but came over to curl up in her arm. "Isn't there a Hogsmeade visit today?"

"Maybe. It's too early in the morning to care about a Hogsmeade visit. It's too early in the morning to ask questions."

"I take it this is supposed to mean it's too early in the morning to do anything."

"Yes. Now shut up you likeable mini boy. Goodnight." With that, she dropped off to sleep.

When he was sure there was no way she would be able to hear him, he said back, barely audible. "Goodnight. You loveable Mudblood."


	17. Hermione Granger and the Ultimate Crazin...

A/N: Hi-ya! I promised myself that I would update before December, and here I am! So HA TO JUNO'S MOME RATH! Anywho, I'm just really happy to finally be back. In the end of this chapter, you find out that important thing that I hinted about back in Chapter 13 (I think). Hazzah-ity!

For those of you who are still reading "The Art of Being Insane", I will be updating soon, it's just that the entire chapter got erased, so I had to start over again.

I have to get off the computer in about 2 seconds, so here all the names of you fab-u-los-ity (my little things to call you guys are just getting lamer and lamer, aren't they?): **the who, frifri, Alenor, Exploded toilet bowl, Karana Belle, lilpsycho14, D/HR SHiPPER, I-Can't-Think-Of-A-Name-lol, Sweet-Sensation162, That Other Girl, Kadoatie24, MeLiO, wocky-gal, gorgeous-gal 23, NitenGale, Cassiel Oliviari, Debatingqueen, ExTeNdAbLe EaRs, Sweet-Sensation162 (again), and License to flirT! **Thank you all!

And to answer a question from Cassiel Oliviari: The "ballad" is from the musical _Wicked_. It's the song _What Is This Feeling?_ (aka _Loathing_). I just had to use it in here, it was too good an opportunity to pass up!

Here's the chappie!

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 17: Hermione Granger and the Ultimate Craziness of Males**

"Her-my-oh-nee…wake up. We've got things to buy, Hogsmeade to see." A male voice sang playfully into her ear. "Hurry up."

Hermione laughed, but left her eyes closed, trying to swat him away. "Malfoy stop it, I told you a million times that tick-" She stopped. Her hand had just grabbed a pair of thick, round glasses. Malfoy didn't wear glasses.

Her eyes hesitantly opened and looked up into the face of a very confused Harry Potter. He did not look happy. "H-Hi Harry." Spotting the red head, she added, "Ron. What are you doing here, going to Hogsmeade, that's funny, I'm going to Hogsmeade too, what a coincidence, coincidences are weird like that aren't they, anyway s'ppose I'll see you there, BYE!" she then jumped up from the couch, only one thought on her mind: _Where was Malfoy?_ Of course, getting up was as far as she got because someone had grabbed her wrist.

"Harry." She said very sweetly, looking up at him casually. "What are you doing?"

"You just called me Malfoy." He answered, green eyes seeming very troubled.

'_Yes, I did.'_ "No I didn't. You must have imagined it." Deny everything and you'll be safe.

"YES, you did." Ron cut in, coming to defense of his friend. He started to bash at the air, imitating her. "You clearly said, 'Malfoy stop it, I told you a million times that tickles'." Now they were surrounding her. "When did he tickle you?" The seriousness of his tone when he said that was funny, but none of them were laughing.

DENY! "No, I did not." She shot back, wrenching her arm out of Harry's grasp. "And he never tickled me. You just heard wrong. Really, you did. Why would he anyway? You're making it sound like I'm hiding him somewhere!"

'**That's possibly because you are.'**

'_SHUT UP!'_

"Hermione, answer the question!" bellowed Harry, gripping her shoulder. "What's going on between you and that Slytherin prat?"

"Harry." She said patiently, closing her eyes for a moment. "Do not take that tone of voice with me. Remember that little talk we had about paranoia and about not letting it get the better of us? This is exactly what I'm talking about. Now let's sit down and figure out where the problem is." God, sometimes those boys could be so childish, it's like they had never been taught manners. Tragic, almost.

"The only problem here is that you are keeping a secret from u-" She smacked a hand over his mouth before he could finish, leaving him looking very annoyed.

"Okay. That's how Harry feels. Ron, what do you think the problem is?" If she was going to have to play Mommy/counselor so be it. She was going to drag this around in circles until all of them were so confused they didn't even remember what the conversation had started as.

Ron looked at her skeptically, pouting slightly. "I agree with Harry. You're up to something. It's like in third year, when you had the Time-Turner. There's something you're not telling us."

She sighed. Typical Ron. Her eyes had practically been screaming, _'Do not seriously answer, just get Harry to calm down!'_, but had he noticed? No, of course not. They really weren't making this any easier for her. She was just going to have to fudge this one.

"I think the problem is that not only are you paranoid, but you don't trust me." She told them, trying to sound sincere. "You never believe me about anything. And where did this stupid plot about me secretly snogging Malfoy come from?" She ignored Ron's sickened expression when she said this.

"It came from pure facts!" Harry replied hotly, not bothered by this remark at all. "The map said so! I'll show you." He thrust his hand into his robe and came up with…absolutely nothing.

He stared at his hand, opening and closing it a few times. "Where's the map?"

"We left it in the dorm room, remember?" Ron explained to his friend warily, getting up and patting Harry on the arm. "Remember? You decided that you shouldn't carry it around all the time, because it might get lost."

"B-but I need the map!" he blubbered, trembling. "I need it. Sirius gave me the map. It's the only REAL MAP." His eyes were almost glowing, and his hair stuck out even more than usual, giving him a crazed look. That's when they knew what was going to happen: one of the famous Potter Rants.

"See, once Dudley got this game for his birthday, and it had a map, but it wasn't the REAL MAP, because only I have the REAL MAP because Sirius gave me the map and he told me it was real and I know it was real because he told me. But Dudley said it was real and made me come with him into the woods behind the park and dig for 3 hours even though he said he wasn't going to give me any treasure because I was too stupid and ugly but I told him it wasn't a REAL MAP, then he slugged me and said that I better dig or else. He tied a string around my ankle and attached it to a tree so that I couldn't run even though it wasn't a REAL MAP…" He went on and on and one, not stopping even to take a breath.

Hermione and Ron were both sitting down on the couch, staring at him. Neither or them knew what to make of it. After getting over the initial shock, she spoke. "Ron?"

"Hmm?"

"Shouldn't we stop him? Or do something? He hasn't done this…"

"In a while, I know. But maybe it's better if we just have him let it out. I mean, he'll have to stop eventually right?"

They both glanced at Harry, who was still going on like there was no tomorrow. "..the REAL MAP will always tell the truth, and it wouldn't make me dig in the forest for 3 hours because Sirius gave me the REAL MAP…"

She turned to face him. "Okay, new plan. We have to do something to scare him. I think that's the only way we can snap him out of it." Suddenly, her face brightened. "Ron, pretend you're Malfoy."

He jumped. "What?"

"Yes. Try to sound just like him. Call me upstairs. Say something that will make him throw up."

He got a funny look on his face. "Well, there is something I can say, but it's kind of-"

Now she was getting agitated. "It's perfect. Just say it." Giving him a wink, she added. "See you in Hogsmeade." She then turned entirely opposite of Ron, pretending she had become extremely interested in the stone wall.

Then she heard his voice come, in a very fake sounding imitation. Malfoy didn't drawl _that_ much. And what was with the nasally sound? He talked very smoothly. Ron sure didn't give the guy any credit. But when she heard what he was saying, those thoughts immediately flew out of her mind.

"Hermione come back up here so that we can finish our 'conversation'."

That had to be the cheesiest thing she'd ever heard. It sounded like something out of a cheap romance movie. Someone she managed to not turn around and smack that stupid red head in the face. "Coming." She turned to Harry, who had stopped his rant abruptly. "Sorry Harry. I have some…homework, waiting for me upstairs." She said nonchalantly, giving him an innocent little smile. With that, she swept up the staircase, into her room.

Hermione was not surprised to hear the portrait hole open, and two sets of feet dash out. And it she wasn't mistaken, there was the lingering cry of "THE MAP!"…

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"Malfoy?" Hermione yelped, searching her pockets quickly. Why wasn't he in there? "Where are you, you better come out RIGHT NOW, or…else!" There was suddenly a thump on the floor, along with a blonde head that wore a large grin.

"Morning." He said cheerily, glancing up at her as though he hadn't just fallen out of her sleeve. "So are we going to Hogsmeade or not? I must agree with Potter for once, there are plenty of things to buy."

"Were you just in my sleeve?" she breathed in disbelief, knowing that her eyes were bugging out at him. How had he managed to stay up there the whole time?

He nodded and began to walk around in little circles. "Yes. Before we go, can you get my money, it's still hidden in my room. I have a ton of things to…" he trailed off when he saw the look on her face. "Oh. You meant that as to say 'What just happened?'. I'll do a play-by-play for you." He started ticking the events off on his fingers. "First I wake up when I hear Potter and Weasely coming. I climb up your sleeve, which is the closest thing to me at the moment. They come in, wake you up, you accidentally call Potter Malfoy, you try to fix it, he goes crazy, and now we're here! Done. Now let's go." He finished, tugging the bottom of her robe.

Why was he so anxious to leave? "Could you slow down, in case you haven't noticed, I am still in my bright red pajamas!" she responded, kicking him lightly.

"Your robe is covering the pajamas, and _I'm _dressed, OKAY TIME TO GO NOW!" The strangest thing was that he said this entire thing with a big smile, as though he didn't care that she was getting so annoyed. But not in the same way as usual. It was more like he didn't notice at all, that all he was paying attention to was leaving.

"Malfoy, are you feeling alright?" she asked uncertainly, sitting down on the floor. "You're acting a bit…off."

"Me? Off? Not at all. If your going to get dressed you should do it now, I won't look." He murmured distractedly, turning away from her while putting a hand over his eyes. "Just wear anything Granger, I'm sure you'll look fine. We have to go soon you know."

Okay, now this was getting just plain odd. There was absolutely no explanation for this kind of behavior. Maybe the crash _had_ messed him up in the head. It was either that or… "Malfoy, do you have a crush on someone?"

The hand slid away as he spun on his heel. "N-n-no!" Nervous. There was something she had never seen on him before. Regaining his composure, he added. "Well, besides the fact that I'm madly in love with devilishly handsome _me_. Why do you ask?"

Hermione simply shrugged. "Oh, nothing in particular. I was only thinking that there must be some reason why you're trying to drag me to Hogsmeade even though we were yet again very close to being found out. I thought that it might've been because of a girl."

He looked at her, looking both astonished and amused. "Granger, I thought you were smarter than that. First of all, even if I did like someone, I wouldn't obsess over her. That would be highly un-Malfoy-ish of me. And creepy. Second, didn't it ever occur to you that maybe I oh, I don't know, _like going to Hogsmeade_?"

What she wanted to do was snap back at him that of _course_ that had occurred to her. What she wanted to do was tell the ferret he was being thick, that wasn't what she had been talking about. And yet she couldn't. Because neither of those things were true, and he always knew when she was lying.

"…_I like going to Hogsmeade."_

He was excited. Draco Lucius Everyone-Can-Go-Die-And-I'd-Just-Be-Laughing Malfoy was excited about something. No. No, no, no. It just didn't fit. He couldn't be excited. It was weird. He could not like going to Hogsmeade. That would mean he was…well, _normal._

"You can't be excited Malfoy. It's just too unlike you. It's too human." She said reasonably, having the sudden urge to pat him on the head. Silly boy.

He stopped pacing a hole into the floor. "No, of course I'm not human Granger….look, where are you going with this?"

She was uncomfortable with the question, snapping out of her two-second trance. "Well, it's just that I've never really mmpha, mumpha, moo." She couldn't say it. He was going to ridicule her for the rest of her life. It was stupid really, the reason she hadn't thought of it. Not to mention it would prove that he did a very good job of seeming like he was emotionless. Gahh.

"Moo? Are you a cow, dearest?" Great. Now he had gone back to the sarcasm bit. Too bad. Excited-Malfoy was sort of cute. And easier to work with.

"It's just that I didn't think you would be excited because I've NEVER THOUGHT OF YOU AS A HUMAN, OKAY? I just didn't think you'd be happy about something!" There. She said it. He could laugh, he could do anything he wanted, but he couldn't say she didn't tell him. Hermione buried her head into her robe, curling up into the floor.

Surprisingly he just gave a short laugh, with not even the least bit of its usual malice. "Hmm. Didn't think you'd be so easily fooled by my 'Malfoys-don't-feel-anything' act. But yes Granger, I am human. An extremely handsome and intelligent human, but still human." Scrunching up his nose, he added. "Though I thought that perhaps you'd know someone whom you had seen in nothing but green boxers wasn't just an empty body."

She uncurled herself and faced him with a half-sarcastic little smile. "You know Malfoy, I think you're the only person in the world who can do this to me."

"What? Do what to you?"

"Make me feel really stupid, but still willing to laugh at myself. The thing is, I don't know whether I should love you or hate you for it."

'_Hate, **please**. It's easier on me.'_

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"Oh my gosh, are you _humming_?"

"No! Of course I am not humming! Whatever gave you that idea?"

"If you're leaning on my ear, you can't deny that you weren't humming. I can _feel_ you humming Malfoy. You we-o-wy do wuv Hogsmeade, don't you widd-o Dwaco?"

"IF I COULD USE MAGIC-"

"But you can't, now can you? Lucky me." She quipped, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Why are you lucky?" questioned a different voice.

Hermione whirled around (and up-he was over a foot taller than her) to see Ron standing over her. "Hello Ron." She said brightly, like there was nothing unusual going on. "Glad you're here."

"Um yes, I'm glad you're here too…except why are you _here_?"

She told him it was a bad idea. She told him that if people saw her there then they would wonder what she was doing. Only boys came to this store. And if girls did come, then it was to buy things for their boyfriends, that of which for her did not exist. But he had to insist and get all excited. When's the last time you were able to resist a person shrunken down to three inches tall that was being so darn CUTE? So now here she was in Quality Quidditch Supplies and Ron was waiting for an answer.

That boy was going to be the death of her.

She surprised herself by coming up with a lie on the spot. She certainly was getting better at this. "I'm here because I thought you and Harry might be here, and I wanted to know if you would come down to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer." That's when she noticed something. "Where _is_ Harry?"

Ron shrugged. "I dumped him on Ginny. Thought she'd give me a hard time, but she said she'd be happy to take care of him for as long as I needed. She usually she hates it when I bother her when she's with her friends." She could tell he was confused. It was funny in a way; Ron seemed completely unsuspecting to his sister's ever-growing crush on Harry.

"Actually that reminds me. I need to talk to you about something. It's very important." He went on, practically dragging her out of the store. Once outside, they both sat down on a bench. "Both Harry and I think that there's something going on-"

Hermione interrupted him with a sigh. Not the Malfoy thing again. There was something going on, but not what they thought, not even close. Imagine, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, a couple? That had to be the most ridiculous things she had ever heard!

'**You know for some reason it doesn't seem as ridiculous as it would have a few months ago.'**

She made a note to wash her mind out with soap as soon as she got back to the castle.

"Ron, look. I know a lot of things have been going on lately that might bring you to believe that I'm doing something behind your backs, but I swear on _Hogwarts, a History_ that I'm not. Besides, both of us know that Harry hasn't been at all the same since Sirius died, or since he defeated Voldemort for that matter. He thinks that all these horrible things are going on that he can't stop, and it scares him. Harry always had, like you say, a saving-people-thing. It's just his nature. Now he's being driven to insanity by material things people he loved have left him. He assumes that just because the map said that Malfoy was here, it was right. He didn't even stop to think of the possibility that it was wrong, purely out of the reason that Sirius gave it to him. I'm not accusing you when I say this, but you always go along with everything he says, no matter…" she trailed off, seeing the shocked look on his face. His eyes looked like they were about to pop. "Oh, I'm sorry Ron. What did you want to say?"

He gave a nervous little cough, and muttered sheepishly "Well, er, that's not exactly what I was talking about. What I was going to say was that last night, Harry and I were almost positive that we saw, eh, _you girls_ in our room."

She burst. Tears of laughter streamed down her cheeks and her sides hurt as she whooped loudly in laughter, gripping her friends' shoulder for support. She didn't even care that people were staring at her. It was _funny_. Here she was having just finished psycho-analyzing Harry in a long, complicated manner, and all he wanted to know about was the stupid rose game. Excuse her, **T**he **R**ose **G**ame.

"What do you mean?" she asked, wiping tears off the sides of her face. "And who exactly, are 'you girls'?"

He squirmed. "More specifically, you, Ginny, and a couple other people from our house."

Hermione touched a hand to her throat, a picture of innocence. "Who, me? I can assure you that I was not in your room last night. You are making it sound like we were playing some disturbing sleepover game. And think about it Ron. Why would we ever do that?"

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Malfoy was on her case the second Ron left.

"I never knew you wanted to be a psychologist, _Hermione_! That was just so, er, _deep_ and profound the way you explained Potter's problem. But as they say, to understand the student, do as they do." Dropping his over-peppy voice, he drawled. "You Gryffindor's are all exactly alike. I'm really starting to question the mental stability of you lot. I can't really have a crazy woman taking care of me, can I?"

Not him _again_. Why did he find a need to comment on everything? "Please, Malfoy, not right now."

"You're so damn moody, Granger, I don't know how Potter and Weasley deal with you." He paused. "Oh, right. They don't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she shrieked, despite the fact that she was supposed to be inconspicuous about talking to him.

"It means that exactly what it sounds like. _They don't deal with you._ Whenever you annoy them enough, they ditch you for a few months until they need to you figure something out for them. It's as simple as that."

"Mmph."

He sighed. "You know I'm right."

She would have answered with the witty response _'No you're not'_, but at that moment, she had become blinded by a bunch of jumping red hair. And it was screaming. Really, really, loud.

"HerEEPioneIamsoSQUEEHAPPYIthinkI'mgoingtoSQUELEEPAHHH!" the girl yelped, springing around in joyful little circles, her body almost a blur. "WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!"

Hermione reached out to grab her, of course without luck. "Ginny, Ginny, calm down. Doing things like this is not good for your blood pressure! Really it's not!" She continued to act like a complete maniac. "I think if you just slowly explained what you're so, um, excited about it would be better for all of us. Especially the locals." She added quietly.

"WHOOPDEDOODLEDEDAAYAYWOOTHAZZAHWHEEEEEEE…"

"Ginny, please!" she begged, making snatches at the air. But she was too fast for her. Finally, she caught hold of her by the shoulders and tried to lurch to a stop. Stupidly enough, she had forgotten that Ginny was a lot stronger than her. This resulted in having _both _of them hopping around the bench. Doing things like that really made her lose faith in her supposedly high IQ. After a few minutes, she was able to bring her to a halt. "Okay then. Now let's both sit down, and you can tell me what happened." She said patiently, yanking her down onto the bench.

"HOPPALOOPALUZEEDOOZEEYIPPA!" Ginny squealed in response.

"Um, yes, HOOPADOOZIE, or whatever." Hermione said, not even bothering at trying to figure out what all these stuck together exclamations meant. Crazed 16-year-old girls were not her specialty. If you wanted to know how to make a 3-inch-tall boy shut up for once in his little rich boy life, she could help. But she would have to do her best. "So…Ron told me you were just taking care of Harry."

She must have said the magic words. Ginny grinned, and tilted her head toward the sky. "Oh, yes, I was definitely taking care of Harry. We were sitting by the Shrieking Shack," Hermione snorted. The Shrieking Shack was not really considered the most romantic place by her standards. "And he was just such a gentleman, even though he's going through so much emotional pain right now." Winking at her, she playfully added, "It's going to be a double wedding for sure."

"Who's the second couple, Ginny?" she asked innocently, "Are your ego and your imagination finally getting married?"

The red head stuck her tongue out at her, but giggled, "No, stupid! Me and Harry and you and Malfoy! It'll be just great, besides the fact that half the guests are going to be attempting to murder the other half."

"For the...I-don't-even-remember-anymore-th time, I DO NOT LIKE MALFOY! Me: 'Mudblood' Gryffindor. Him: Big head, excuse me, Pureblood, Slytherin. When you like about it logically, like that, you can tell it doesn't work out." She sat back on the bench, a triumphant smile on her face. You can't fight logic. Unless you're Lewis Carroll that is. And Ginny couldn't fight logic as well as him.

Or so she thought.

"Mione, that's just the thing." She explained, patting her hand and shaking her head. "You're not supposed to think about it logically. You have to think about it _romantically_." No. NO! What was she doing! She wasn't supposed to be fighting the logic! "It's like Romeo and Juliet."

"IN WHAT SENSE?" Hermione was in hysterics now. It seemed that as time went on, more and more people were thinking her a total loon. The sad part was, as time went on, she seemed to care less and less about it.

Ginny's voice became a low, dramatic whisper. "In the sense that your oppositity brought you together. Two different families, or in your case, houses, at a constant war with each other. Yet the two of you are drawn to one another, though you know what others may think if they knew of this secret attraction. In public, you try to hide your feelings by insulting each other, but you know how you secretly feel. It's like…you're not complete without the company of your other half." Going back to normal, she brightened. "But you are all too unromantic to see this. Horrible, isn't it?"

She closed her eyes. "I only have two things to say. First of all, I am quite 'complete' without constantly bickering with Malfoy. Second, OPPOSITITY ISN'T A WORD YOU NITWIT!" She jumped up and tried to walk away, but Ginny pulled her back down.

"It's not a wonder you're so unhappy. Denying your feelings like this isn't healthy." She hummed, waving as one of her sixth year friends walked by.

"I am not unhappy. And again, I must ask you where you got this idea that I like Malfoy." She growled, irritated.

"Oh, I don't just think, I know it for a fact."

"How?"

"Harry told me."

Hermione literally turned around and banged her head against the wall a couple of times. "Ginny, you know he's crazy, right?"

She was offended. "He's not crazy! Just because he's been a little depressed since Sirius died does not make him crazy. It makes him human."

They went back and forth for a while, arguing over Harry's ability to stay sane and such, until they came to a conclusion: that they should change the subject. The two talked for the next few minutes, until Ginny remembered she had promised to meet Luna at the Three Broomsticks.

"Why are you meeting Luna?" she asked.

Ginny grinned mischievously. "Helping her win the heart of Colin Creevey."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Have fun trying to pry him away from his camera."

"I will. And you're next, just so you know."

As soon as she was out of ear-shot, Malfoy (she could tell just by his tone of voice) scrunched up his nose in that Malfoy-ish way and said, "Is that girl's life ambition to see the two of us wed?"

She just rolled her eyes. "Yes Malfoy, I believe it is."

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They got back at the castle late in the afternoon, both of them with big, silly grins smeared on their faces. For having to spend the day at Hogsmeade with each other, both Draco and Hermione had had a quite enjoyable time. Not to mention both of their money bags were considerably lighter.

"Signum." Hermione muttered distractedly at the painting. "Malfoy, I can't believe you made me buy all those ridiculous things at Zonko's, I usually don't set foot in that store if I can help it-"

"At least it made you look **_fun_** instead of your usual, stuffy self-"

"Excuse me, I am not the least bit stuffy!" she shrilled hotly.

"You just keep thinking that."

"HOO."

They had been stopped short by something almost flying right into her face. "Oh, an owl." She observed, watching as the bird zoomed around the room a couple of times. "It's probably been here since this morning. Poor thing, having to wait for us all day."

"Then put it out of its misery and take the damn letter Granger." He drawled sarcastically.

Ignoring him, she took the letter out of the owl's beak and went to go sit at her desk. Letting him down onto the table top, her eyes bugged. "Who's it from?" he questioned nosily.

There was astonishment in her tone when she answered. "M-my parents. It's taken them a while."

All was silent for a moment as she skimmed through the letter, with the occasional hum of "Oh." And "Strange". But then, as she read the bottom, the piece of paper slipped from her hands, fluttering to the floor. "Oh no." she whispered breathlessly, freezing to her chair.

He managed to see a single sentence before the letter was out of sight. It read:

_We want to meet him. _

A/N: Everything about this last part will be clear next chappie, I promise. BTW, the little conversation Hermione had with Draco before Ginny came in will be continued...

Keep reading and reviewing!


	18. The Secret of the Empress of Cheddar and...

Another A/N: Sorry about last night guys. I tried to upload this but it wouldn't work and somehow still sent out the author alerts to everyone. But here's the chappie now, so happy reading (it's really long)!!

A/N: I am really glad to finally update, I was just so ticked off that I lost the chapter last time considering that I had this AND Chapter 4 of Art of Being Insane (which, for the record, I have not updated in a few centuries), but now that is behind us!!

I think this chapter is a little stupid, but you find out…well, you find out the secret of The Most Admirable and Ravishing Empress That Rules All That Is Cheddar and Slytherin. Which, though it says Empress, has a lot to do with Draco and will later be very important in the story (like when I'm trying hard to not give anything away here people _some people_ come to Hogwarts), so pay attention. That chapter is funny though, even J'sMR agrees for once.

And last of all (what, did you think I forgot or something?), here are the names of you fabulous people that have not abandoned my fic even though I have been a very bad author:

**Frifri (I'll email you soon), Exploded toilet bowl, Debatingqueen, Crystal Fox, Kathe, D/Hr SHiPPER, Sweet-Sensation162, Karana Belle, Kadoatie24, xXxsweet-dreamerxXx, ExTeNdaBle EaRs, License to flirt, Alenor, bellatix-voldielocksOo, That Other Girl, Cassiel Oliviari,.:CRYSTALFIRE:.,Cleopatra, dracosofine, gabbers, and Goddes of life and death!!!!**

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 18: The Secret of The Most Admirable and Ravishing Empress That Rules All That Is Cheddar and Slytherin**

Hermione gingerly placed the sheet of paper on the desk, smoothing down the corners of it in a nervous state. Malfoy watched intently from her lap, annoyed that she had rushed them here without any explanation, but interested in what she was about to do.

The headmaster momentarily glanced down at the letter before looking at her, blue eyes gleaming behind half-moon spectacles. "Do you want me to read this Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked calmly, waiting for her consent.

That just made her even more fidgety. She tried to say yes, but began choking on her words, so finally just nodded. Absentmindedly she started to hum in an extremely off-key tone and Draco couldn't help but grit his teeth it was so horrible. _'Then again,'_ he reminded himself, _'It seems she has presently left the planet and cannot be held responsible for her actions.'_

Save for the humming, all was silent as Dumbledore read from the greeting to the closure. Upon finishing, his bony hand once again set down the letter onto his desk. "It seems," he stated factually, "To be a letter from your parents."

"It is Professor."

He gave a soft chuckle, like he was watching some funny show. "Perhaps you would care to explain to me why you found it to be so very important."

"Oh, but it is important!!!!!" she exclaimed, her eyes wild with panic. "Didn't you see _the words_?" Her voice dropped down to scarcely a whisper when she said the last two words.

"Of course I saw the words Miss Granger. It is a letter."

Hermione sat back on her chair, staring back at him in disbelief. Alright, so he had a point. That was sort of a stupid thing to say, seeing as it was a letter. But that wasn't really the issue. She seemed to have run into a rather large problem and it was this: Dumbledore was definitely the type of adult that made you say _exactly_ what you meant. _Exactly_. She didn't know how she would ever sum up enough courage to do this. It was one thing to ask your headmaster to read a letter from your parents, but quite another to ask him to let your Muggle parents come to your school of Witchcraft and Wizardry…

Her own voice sounded quivery and foreign to her ears. "I mean the request sir. At the bottom." She tapped the page to signify where she meant. Dumbledore's eyes scanned the sentence quickly and he nodded.

"Yes I see. _'We want to meet him'_. And who exactly is the person they wish to become acquainted with?"

She waited for Malfoy to cut in, saying that it could be none other than himself, and how could the Muggles _not_ want to meet his dashing, Pureblooded self, the usual bragging. Normally she would have hated him for it, but this was a time when she actually needed him to be his snooty, pompous self. She waited for about 30 seconds before deciding it wasn't coming, and then spoke. "T-they want to meet Malfoy."

Dumbledore smiled slightly at her. "And for what reason would that be?"

Oh, goodness, could he not see how uncomfortable the questions made her, how the beads of sweat were forming on her forehead in agony, the way she was breathing in short little intervals? Why, oh why, couldn't someone put her out of her misery, pat her gently on the hand, whisper only loud enough for her to hear that she would be able to do this, it was just a smelly old man? But where the hell had the smelly old man part come from anyway?

The words forced themselves painfully out of her mouth. "Mmparesswanncumbecuzthythinhezmmbyfren." She suddenly felt short of breath at her confession, and could feel the color rush to her cheeks. There. She had done it. Now all she had to do was wait patiently while Dumbledore considered her mumbles before asking her to repeat herself, when she would have to go through the entire internal-battle deal all over again.

Quite on the contrary to her thoughts, the headmaster brightened at her words, and he nodded knowingly. "Ah, of course. That's perfectly understandable. I'm sure the parents of every teenage girl think that the 3-inch tall boy she takes care of is her boyfriend. When you think of it logically like that, it makes complete sense."

"Maybe you shouldn't think about it logically. Maybe you should think about it romantically. Then it's like Romeo and Juliet, apparently." She said quietly, becoming even redder. Malfoy _really_ didn't need to hear that.

"What was that Miss Granger?"

"Nothing."

Nobody spoke for a few minutes, while Dumbledore carefully examined a long roll of parchment, seeming to be counting something.

"Would Christmas holiday be convenient for them?"

Hermione looked up at him, alarmed. "Excuse me?" He couldn't really mean…

"Your parents. Would Christmas holiday be a convenient time for them to come visit?" he asked again, looking as her as though she were stupid.

"Wh-how-THEY CAN COME?!?" she exclaimed, her voice quite a bit louder than she had meant it to be. He couldn't be serious!

Dumbledore chuckled for the second time since she had come to his office. "Why, of course! I'm not one to go against the wishes of one of my best students. In fact, I'll write your parents right now." He gave a flick of his wand and a piece of parchment and quill flew into his hand.

She still hadn't quite processed that it had happened. "But their Muggles!" she reasoned, "They can't even see the castle properly."

He looked up from the letter. "There are ways, Miss Granger. Besides, I'm sure you _want_ your parents to come, don't you?"

'_Not answering that, no way, now how.'_ "And the other students!" she continued indigently, "Won't they wonder why my parents are here? My **_Muggle_** parents?"

"No one has to see them. They can stay in the Head Dorms. I understand you and Mr. Malfoy both sleep in your room?"

'_Or wherever else we happen to fall asleep.'_ "Well, yes…but are you sure this is alright, Professor? I mean, they're sort of…"

"Muggles?" he finished for her.

Hermione said nothing. Had she been rambling?

Dumbledore them set down his quill for a moment and looked her right in the eye. "Miss Granger, I assure you that it will be no trouble at all. Your parents will be quite comfortable, and so many students go home for the holidays anyway, so everything will work out f-"

"I want my mum to come too!" demanded a small voice suddenly, and she could feel Malfoy stand up from down on her lap. "It's not fair that Granger's parents get to come here and not mine!"

The headmaster's gaze swept over to the tiny boy's face and he nodded. "Very well then. I'll write to her as well. Will she be able to come here on her own?"

"Oh, certainly. She can Floo here."

HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE THERE!!! She could have just said, "I want my parents to come" and he would have said YES?!? Why didn't anyone tell HER about the shortcut, when she had just spent 3 pages explaining what had seemed like an extreme predicament?!? Was she missing something?!?

She was wondering the same thing as she stepped out of the office 5 minutes later, walking on legs that didn't feel attached to her body. Finally, she spoke up, and she could hear that her voice was sounding strange again. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked distractedly. "Hey, do you think Dumbledore will give my mother her own room somewhere, we only have two and she has to have her own space or she gets really _moody_…"

She suddenly felt a pang of annoyance that he wasn't listening. That boy really needed to learn some manners. "I just wanted to know how you got to be such a genius." She said loudly, waiting for his reaction.

And just as she suspected, he didn't hear a word.

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_Outside the door of the Common Room_

"…your parents are dentists right, I'm not so sure my mother is particularly fond of dentists, but I actually don't know if she's ever met one come to think of it, but as long as they don't insult her teeth I'm sure she'll be fine…"

"Signum." Hermione said dully, rolling her eyes. He had been going on about absolutely nothing for quite some time now. The portrait of the animal-loving wizard swung open, where she was surprised to find all of the lights had been put out, including the fire. That was odd. Malfoy suddenly stopped talking, and she could feel him worming his way deeper into her pocket. She envied him for it. How she wished she could just duck into a pocket when she didn't want to deal with anything.

"Hello?" she called into the darkness. Her own echo answered her. She slowly crept toward a spot in the room dimly lit by the moonlight coming through a slightly opened window. "Is there anyone there?" She heard something skittering past her, and was almost positive she heard a low hiss. Her hand flew to her wand, and she held it cautiously in front of her.

"Come out." She ordered firmly, though without raising her voice. She didn't want to scare whatever it was away. "If you show yourself, no one will get hurt." The blood was pumping loudly in her ears. What if it were Death Eaters? Had they already gotten Harry and Ron? Had they come here to finish her off? Would she…

"I'm warning you right now, I'm armed and will not hesitate to attack." She continued, . She heard another scuttling noise. _'You need to find Harry and Ron, go to the Gryffindor Tower,see if there alright, make sure they're okay.' _A voice in the back of her mind was speaking to her, but her body wouldn't respond. _'Get out of here, it could be dangerous!'_

She still didn't move. Her wand hand slowly fell to her side, and once again she peered into the dark common room. She suddenly had the feeling that it wasn't something as dangerous as Death Eaters. It was someone else, but whoever it was, they still meant her harm…

"Hello, Mudblood."

At once, all of the lights came back up, and she was standing face-to-face with three Slytherins, all of whom were looking quite angry, though in strange ways. Two of them were looking angry in a stupid way, while the last was looking angry in a very…pug-ish way. They were, of course, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson.

Hermione just gaped stupidly at them for a moment, in pure shock, something she would soon regret. Before she could even utter a word of protest, Crabbe and Goyle had each seized her by the arms and tugged her onto the nearest couch and kept her arms pinned down on either side of her.

Pansy watched with a look of evil delight on her face, and gave a short shriek of laughter, making the other three inhabitants of the room cringe. Hermione struggled uselessly against the grasp of the two large boys before slumping onto the arm of the couch in defeat. "What the hell do you think you're playing at Parkinson?" she spat in disgust, "This is kind of illegal, you know."

For a mere second it looked as though she had succeeded in scaring her, but the Slytherin girl's expression quickly changed. "Well, it's also illegal to not follow the orders of your betters." She shot back haughtily.

"No it's not. It just isn't proper. And since you lot don't seem to think much of being proper either…besides, I don't see anyone here that is my 'better'."

Pansy's face was now looking more dog-like than ever. "Don't take that tone of voice with me, you filthy little Mudblood. You aren't even worthy of being in our presence, isn't that right boys? _Boys_?" Both Crabbe and Goyle jumped when they realized she was talking to them.

"Yeah. We're not even worthy of being in your presence." Crabbe grunted, looking very proud of himself.

"No man, _she's_ not worthy of being in _our_ presence. Get it right." Goyle said.

"Oh."

"Both of you shut up!" Pansy snapped, obviously annoyed. She then turned back to Hermione. "Now, we have a few questions for you." Pansy took out her wand and pressed it right onto Hermione's nose.

Okay, that was going too far. That was wrong. That was an invasion of her personal space, which could only mean one thing: it was time to break out the threats. "Parkinson, the second these two buffoons let me go you are going to get so many detentions you won't even see them coming and _they_," she jerked her head back toward Crabbe and Goyle, "Are going to get at least a million lines, and mysteriously all of Slytherin's House points shall be gone. Just thought you'd like to know."

Her sneer didn't falter. "Do I have to remind you that I am also a Prefect?"

"Do I have to remind you that I am Head Girl?"

For the second time a worried look crossed Pansy's face, but she shook it off. "No. This is too important. I'm not going to let you weasel your way out of this, like you stupid, poor boyfriend…"

"Ron is NOT my boyfriend! Ten points from Slytherin for that horrible accusation!" she exclaimed hotly.

She completely ignored her. "…and we will no longer stand for this. You think you're so great, strutting around like you own the place, just because your friends with Potter…"

Hermione answered dryly. "Did you sneak into Snape's office and steal things he plans to say to me?"

"…And I now plan to put you in your place. Now, you answer this simple question and we might let you and your ugly bushy head go."

They all waited in silence.

"_Where is Draco?"_

She literally gagged. What was this? Why had no one warned her that November 1st was "Accuse Hermione Day"? Why did everyone suspect that she would know his whereabouts? Because as far as everyone else knew, she had only shared living quarters with him for 20 days. This was ridiculous. And she said so, along with saying that she had no idea where the ferret was.

Parkinson did not like that. "Listen, Mudblood. That was a simple question. We just want to know where Draco is, what you have done to him, and why you are holding him hostage. It really isn't that hard. Anyway, since your always bragging about how brainy you are, this would be a really good chance for you to _prove it_."

"I don't brag, and I don't need to too prove that I'm smarter then you. If you were smart at all, you would know that the wise thing to do would be to let – me - _go_!" She gave another tug at her arm, hoping that she might catch the buffoons off guard, but sadly without luck. Crabbe was holding it down as tight as ever. "I am also not holding Malfoy hostage, nor have I ever been. Where did you get that idea anyway?"

"That's none of your business."

"Actually, it is, considering that I am the one being accused of holding him hostage."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"Is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"Isn't."

"Most Admirable and Ravishing Empress That Rules All That Is Cheddar and Slytherin? Can we wrap this up, because it's almost time for dinner, and I'm kinda hungry." Crabbe cut in, from her left.

Hermione stared up at the girl in possibly even more disbelief than she had previously experienced. "_Most Admirable and Ravishing _– you're making them call you – and what's with the cheddar part?!?"

Pansy covered her eyes with her hand. "Vincey…you had dinner an hour ago. And the word's not **_cheddar_**. It's _chic_. C'mon, say it with me. Go on…say _'chic'_."

"Chedd-"

"No, no, no! Chic! Say chic!!!"

"Chedic."

"CHIC!!!!!!" she shrieked, looking on the verge of hexing someone.

"Your Most Admirable and Ravishing Empress That Rules All That Is Chic and Slytherin? Maybe you should just tell the Mudblood how you know so she confesses faster." Goyle said, looking at them all as though they were boring him. Hermione looked over her shoulder at him, impressed. Maybe he was smarter than she thought.

"Because I'm really hungry too. Isn't an hour a really long time to not eat?"

Or not.

Pansy's hands fell to her side and she seemed to calm down a bit. "Yes, yes, you're right Greg. I'll just tell it," Hermione scowled at being called an 'it'. Those Slytherins couldn't leave her along about being Muggle-Born, know could they? "About how we know, so that she lets Draco go."

Hermione interrupted. "I can't let him go if I don't have him. Why would I have him anyway?" She didn't mention that this was because of logic. Logic had already failed her once, and she didn't want it to fail her again in the same day. That would be all too depressing.

"You're holding him hostage because you _like him_. And don't even try to deny it, because I heard that red-headed brat talking about it to Parvati and Lavendar. So there." She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for her reaction.

"By 'that red-headed brat', you mean Ginny, right?"

"_Ginny_? Her name is _Ginny_? Well that's a dumb name! That means her name's really Virginia, and that's a state somewhere in America, even though it's supposedly named after Queen Elizabeth. Stupid Americans. How can they say that it's named after Queen Elizabeth if it's called Virginia?"

This was hopeless. "Queen Elizabeth was nicknamed 'The Virgin Queen', which is why it's called Virginia. Not that it matters anyway, because Ginny is short for Ginerva. And because she's psychotic."

Pansy was taken aback. Her pug-ish face was sporting a look beyond shock. "W-what? But she's your friend!"

"So? That doesn't mean she's not crazy. She's been going around telling any one that'll listen how madly in love with him I am!" Just to scorn her, Hermione threw back her head and laughed heartily, even though on the inside she was sitting on the edge of her chair. Would Pansy buy this act? Would she be able to drive her away if she kept this up?

"Ah-HA!!!" Pansy shouted, pointing her wand at Hermione's face once more. "You just admitted that you love him!"

"What, afraid I'll steal him from you Pansy?" she answered coolly, giving her an innocent little grin, "Worried that there'll be competition for your Drakey-wakey?"

Her reaction was quite different from what she expected. She expected Pansy to start going on about how Malfoy would never be anyone but hers, shout at her, possibly even blush. What she did was go extremely pale and get a horrified look on her face. "Don't say that." She ordered in a hollow voice, "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Why not? I mean, how could anyone ever resist him, he's just so…." She racked her brains for a appropriately disgusting word. "…delicious." She gushed with a forced grin. _'NEED….CLEANSING…AM…SPEAKING…TERRIBLE…WORDS…'_ She reminded herself that she was presently saving two people's lives, but still didn't feel all that better about it.

Just like she had hoped, Pansy became even whiter. "Delicious…don't call Draco delicious…that's just not…right." She sounded like she wanted to strangle Hermione and throw up, though not necessarily in that order. In other words, she seemed downright sickened.

At the top of her lungs, Hermione began to sing (though it sounded quite a bit more like shouting). "DELI-CIOUS DRA-CO, DELI-CIOUS DRA-CO, DELI-CIOUS DRACO, DELI-CIOUS DRA-CO!!!!! I LUUUUUUUUV YOU, MY DELI-CIOUS DRACO, LA LA LAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Stop it!" Pansy cried, pressing her hands over her ears. "Boys, let's go!" The Slytherin girl spun on her heel and quickly walked away towards that portrait hole. It took a moment, but Crabbe and Goyle realized that she had been talking to them. Both of them let go of her arms and, without even a single glance her way, ran out of the common room.

"Most Admirable and Ravishing Empress That Rules All That Is Cheddar And Slytherin!!!" Crabbe yelled to her retreating back, "Are we going to dinner now?"

Hermione sat stiffly on the couch for a moment in her previous position before grinning to herself and flopping down onto the cushions, exhausted. She stretched and then closed her eyes, feeling extremely fulfilled. "Fifty points from Slytherin." She chortled softly. "And I'm being nice. Isn't that nice of me Malfoy?" She shifted her body a bit and opened her pocket. "Just fifty points? It should be more, and you know it."

He didn't come out.

"Malfoy? Draco? You in there?"

His small voice answered. "Yes." His voice sounded oddly high-pitched and strained.

"Aren't you going to come out here and tease me to death?" she asked. She was still ticked off at him for rambling and not paying attention to her, but rather bored. The night was young and she had finished all her homework; this was the only way to have something to do until bed time.

"No."

"Are you going to give me an answer longer than one word anytime soon?"

"Maybe."

She sighed and opened the pocket so that she could peek inside. "Malfoy, what's the matter with you? Normally we'd be having an argument by now. Or something."

"You shouldn't have said that."

"Said what?"

"What you said." He said in the same strange voice. He still had not come out of her pocket.

"Oh…you mean about you being delicious. You know I was just trying to make Pansy jealous so that she would go, is that all that's bothering you? Get over yourself Malfoy." She was starting to feel really annoyed at him again.

He didn't respond angrily, or with any emotion at all. "That's what I'm talking about. You shouldn't have tried to make her jealous. That was wrong."

There was now sharpness in her tone. "Oh yeah? Who are you to tell me the difference between right and wrong? Besides, we all know you two are love birds anyway." She didn't believe a word of what she was saying, and yet she couldn't stop herself from saying it. Stupid little ferret, trying to tell her what to do. Emphasis on the 'little'.

"No, I mean it was _wrong_, as in absolutely horrifying. I'm not Pansy's boyfriend, nor have I ever been."

"Sure, right, whatever. You know, you better go Malfoy, I think you two have a snogging session scheduled in a few minutes." **'Hermione, what's the matter with you? Why are you being so mean?'**

"Don't say that." He finally sounded like something, and it was defensive. "Really Granger, don't. You don't know what you're talking about."

"That's the same thing she said. Guess you two thought up a little story in case anyone got suspicious." **'You should have saved the mean for someone else. Draco's your-'**

'_Don't say friend. Don't you dare say he's my friend. We are not buddies, we are people who are presently stuck together because he decided to go and become only 3 INCHES TALL!!!'_

'**Oh, don't go blaming this on him. For all we know it could've been our fault.'**

'…'

'**Hello? Helloooooooo?'**

"There's just something's that you don't know, alright?" Malfoy hissed at her

"Well, if I don't know then maybe this would all be easier if you TOLD ME!!!" Hermione shouted back. This was idiotic. She was yelling at someone she couldn't even see. He still hadn't come out of her pocket, so if anyone were to walk in at the moment, it would look like she was shouting at her thighs.

His voice became very quiet again. "I can't. You won't believe me."

"Sure I will." She found his soft voice very calming, and it made her stop shouting as well. "Really Malfoy, I promise. We're friends, remember?"

'**YOU JUST SAID IT, YOU JUST SAID IT…'**

Then, he crawled out of her pocket, and she saw he was smirking, "C'mon Granger, you know we're hardly friends. More like friend_ly _acquaintances. But since you asked so nicely…" He said this all very innocently, but he was really planning to pay her back for taking all those Slytherin House Points. He knew this would shock her like hell, and for once, was sure his plan would work.

"Pansy is …"

A/N: I know, I'm evil!!! But this chapter has gotten too long and Chapter 19 will come in only a few days, I promise! Since 18 and 19 are the two chapters right before another big time skip I thought I'd stretch it out. But no worries: I'll update very, very soon.

PLEEZ REVIEW!!!!!


	19. Feeling Slytherin

A/N: I'm back! My sorry-ness for not updating in almost half a year could fill a million pages, I swear. So, I'm just going to say this once: I AM SO FREAKIN SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING, I BEG FORGIVENESS FROM ALL OF YOU! I hope I haven't lost any reviewers, or that there are people who decided to ditch my story. Well, either way, here are the wubbulous people that bothered to read this nonesensical blah that comes to my head:

**frifri (x3), iluvwriting, HOPS, Karana Belle, MeLiO, Sweet-Sensation162, auracle, D/HR SHIPPER, EngShin, M is for Mystery, gorgeous gal-23, gabbers (x4), tigerlily727, CrystalNite (x2), Black Padfoot, sxcting, ye, KawaiihonNeko, Snape-ette, Katherine, Danny.Phantom.freak, BIG TIME DEPP LOVA, cunz hottie, Lady of the Realm, PheonixPlume, Katy, Holly Kopik Walsh, pluto, Buck-a-Beak, ShadowFairy101, katherose, kkjade, hermione26591 (x10) and last, but not least Kitten!** Thank you all for reading and reviewing! And now, what you've all been waiting for...

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 19: Feeling Slytherin**

_Meanwhile, in some obscure part of Hogwarts…_

"OH SHEN-_AN_-DOAH! I LONG TO SEE YOU…FAR AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY YOU ROLLIN' RIVER…" sang Harry loudly, tottering dangerously on the arm of his chair, "OH SHEN-_AN_-DO-AH-"

Ginny yanked Harry back into his seat, hoping that not too many people had heard him. Then, she leaned forward to speak to her brother, who was sitting across from her (if you could call it sitting). "_Ron_," she hissed, "Are you _sure_ it was a good idea for the two of you to drink _Firewhiskey_? I mean, both of you seem sort of…"

"Drunk?" Parvati finished for her, appearing over the top of Ron's chair. "Yeah, I'd have to say your right Gin."

This could have won the prize for the understatement of the year. In truth, Harry and Ron both looked like they had gone completely out of their minds. Ron, who was "sitting" upside down in his chair, hair sweeping the floor, was babbling about how quill racing should be a sport, and Harry, now that Ginny had put a stop to his song, had taken to counting the seconds between his hiccups. So far the highest number he had gotten up to was 4, which made Ginny doubly worried.

Parvati settled herself on the arm of Ron's chair, and leaned over the side to observe him. "Wow. They must have had a loooooooot of butterbeer to get like this. It is sort of cute though, don't you think?"

Ginny laughed wearily. "Parvati, don't hit on my brother when I'm sitting right here. Or when he isn't sober." Then she paused, as if debating over something with herself. "And they, uh…didn't drink butterbeer."

"Oh really?" her friend answered distractedly. Parvati was now waggling her fingers in front of Ron's face and pulling them away right before he could grab them. "What'd they have then?"

Ginny said something very quickly, very quietly and very muffled. But by some miracle Parvati had still managed to hear.

Immediately her jaw dropped open, and she stared at the two boys in wonder. _"Wha…? You had Fire Whiskey…?"_ She was too awed to speak. For a second, Ginny thought she was going to pull a Hermione and start to lecture the two of them, but when the next second rolled around it had only been a dream.

"And you didn't give me any!" Parvati shrieked, jumping up from the chair. She was rather red in the face from rage, and became even redder as she kicked the chair in attempts to knock Ron out of it. "THAT'S IT! IT IS _OVER_ BETWEEN US RONALD!"

Ginny leapt up from her chair as well, and rushed to her. "Um, Parvati, it can't really be _over_ if you two never _had_ anything. Besides, I'm not sure that they even _had_ Fire Whiskey. I'm only guessing. I just remembered that this is exactly what Fred and George used to get like whenever they snuck some-"

"Details!" she huffed, openly determined to be angry about it, "C'mon Ginny, can you _believe_ the two of them? Can you _believe_ it? I've known them for _SEVEN YEARS _and this is how they show their friendship? By not sharing the wealth that hath suddenly been bestowed upon them? If _I_ had gotten my hands on some Fire Whiskey_ I_ would have shared it with them, but now I'm not so sure that I would – WHAT?" she spat, as she spun on her heel to face Ron, who had been hovering behind her for quite some time.

Seeing that she had finally acknowledged him, the boy's face broke out in a grin too wide for his face. Then he said thickly, "Your hair is PURR-ITY. Do you want to come quill racing with me? I can get really good seats."

All anger forgotten, Parvati giggled and fluttered her eyelashes prettily at him. "Oh Ronnie, that's so sweet! Is that a date?" she added hopefully.

Ron didn't answer. He had just fallen back into his chair, fast asleep, and was presently snoring loudly. Parvati stared for a moment, but turned around just in time to see Ginny hurriedly tucking her wand away inside her robes. Mysteriously, Harry had also fallen asleep as well.

"Ginny!" Parvari whined, "What did you do that for, he was about to ask me out!"

Ginny stomped back to her chair, not looking too happy herself. "Oh come on, you know he had no idea what he was saying!" Silence. "Sorry. I didn't mean to shout." Still looking troubled, Ginny sank back into her chair.

Parvati pursed her lips and sat down in the chair opposite her. "Oh c'mon, where's your sense of humor? It's so unlike you not to take advantage of a confused boy, right now you could be making Harry agree to anything. Tell me what's up."

"It's not me." Ginny sighed finally, "It's Hermione."

"Hermione? What's wrong with her?"

She was being quite reluctant to admit anything. "Well, nothing yet, but there will be. I found out something really horrible today while I was with Luna-"

Parvati reacted immediately. "Luna! I always _knew_ that girl had it in for poor old 'Mione! Should we use blackmail or torture?"

"Oh no, it isn't Luna." Ginny said quickly, waving her hand to dismiss the idea, "The two of us overheard something."

She leaned forward, as if in both excitement and terror, and breathlessly whispered, "What?"

Ginny lifted her head, alert brown eyes suspiciously darting about the common room. Once convinced that no one was listening, she took a breath and let out the secret. "IthinkthatMalfoymightalreadyhaveagirlfriend."

"Who?" Parvati gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Pansy Parkinson."

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"…is my cousin." Draco finished, feeling as though he had been waiting to finish his sentence for almost five months. "Well, second cousin actually, but cousin all the same." He said thoughtfully, not bothering to hide the triumphant smirk on his face. This was it, his big moment. The shock of this would, well, shock her. He would have avenged his House points to the best of his ability by the time he was through. Ha ha, take _that_ Granger.

'_Victory is sweet.'_

'**_Uh, no it isn't. It actually has sort of a tangy flavor'_**

'_I think victory is salty!'_

'**How dare you people question the boss man! The boss man knows everything, and if he says victory is sweet, than victory is sweet.'**

'**_I must say I agree. But if anyone really wants to settle the matter, why don't one of you ask him?'_**

'**Us? Why don't you do it?'**

'**_Well, I, er…I would, but I have to, um…'_**

'**_Oh fine, _I'll_ go ask boss man what victory tastes like, since Draco over there is being such a wimp.'_**

'All_ of us are named Draco.'_

"Shut up!" Draco murmured aloud, smacking himself on the side of the head. That was when he was aware of the strange way Granger had been staring at him for the past 5 minutes. "Well, Granger?" he prompted. He could already feel a victory dance coming on. "Are you going to say something, or have you too been hypnotized my dashing good looks?"

At that, she shook her head vigorously, like she was trying to shake off something. "Malfoy."

He grinned maliciously, "No, I'm not trying to pull one over on y –" His face fell when he realized something. "Hold on, what did you say?"

"Malfoy." Granger repeated, shaking her head again, "No. That's not true. You know it can't be."

Well. That wasn't exactly the reaction he had counted for. Wasn't she just supposed to be surprised? "And _why _can't it be true? I'm not joking, I'm really not." He said defensively. Why did she always have to challenge everything he said?

Very slowly, she sat up, all the while keeping her gaze on him. "No, no, that can't be right, Draco. She can't be your cousin. You took her to the Yule Ball. That would be-"

"Disgusting?" he offered, wrinkling his nose. He knew exactly what was troubling her. "I know. It's a long story. See, she really wanted to go to see the Weird Sisters, but was convinced that she couldn't go to the ball without a date, but of course she couldn't get one, a date I mean, seeing as she's a complete cow, so she went whining to her parents until they went to whining to my parents, who paid me to take her even though I didn't want to, because Pansy and I can hardly stand each other." Draco finished and took a breath. "That answer your question? Are you prepared to believe me now?" Maybe he would still be able to have a victory _hum_ or something.

Still looking at him oddly, Granger gave a short nod. "Alright, I suppose that makes sense, having to take your cousin to the dance."

"Ball."

"Whatever. There's just one thing I don't understand." Just one thing she didn't understand? Oh no. That never meant anything good with Granger. "If you two aren't dating, and are cousins that hate each other, than why does it matter to her that you had been 'kidnapped'?"

Draco rubbed his temple and sighed. "Well, that's another story entirely…"

"Well, let's hear it. Now. I don't think the reader's will appreciate having to wait for a plot twist again, they're already really annoyed at Sacagawea as it is."

"What?"

She shook her head, finally looking away from him for a moment. "I haven't a clue why I just said that. But either way, I want you to tell me the story Draco, I don't think I could take any more secrets."

Draco? He momentarily felt something squirm in the pit of his stomach when she said his name like that. She hadn't meant it sarcastically as she usually did, nor had she just been trying to butter him up, it was more like they were actually having a conversation-

He couldn't think about that now. Despite the fact that this was strictly against Malfoy law, he owed the Mudblood an explanation, so he was going to give it to her. It was only the chivalrous sort of thing he would do.

'**Yeah, your 'chivalry' and the fact that you think she's -' **

'_Oh shut up.'_

"Well let's see." Draco ran a hand through his hair roughly, trying to remember all the details. "It all started the summer after I turned seven and Pansy was coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks, her parents went on some sort of trip. I had never met her before and didn't particularly want to because she was a girl and would most likely bother me. So when she came the two of us mostly left each other alone. For a while, anyway. Three days into her stay, my parents decided that the two of us should 'bond', so they…" He paused for a moment, looking uncomfortable. "Well, they sort of locked us outside."

"What?" Granger was shocked. "Why?"

"I told you, they wanted us to bond!" He snapped, "Don't ask me to understand the crazy things my parents come up with! Anyway, she immediately went off to do some girly thing like pick flowers, so I got my broomstick and started flying and basically just trying to ignore her. But at one point I sort of flew over her, and then all the sudden she started screaming her head off. Naturally, I got scared because she sounded like a dying monkey, so I landed and went to see what was wrong with her. The next thing I know, she's beating me up (it hurt too, she was a lot bigger than me back then) and saying that I had kicked her in the head, and that I had better say sorry 'or else'. That was ridiculous of course, because I had been flying about 20 feet in the air, and I told her so, but that just made her hit me harder. I denied it for a while, but finally I couldn't take it anymore. So I pushed her off me and told her to shut the bloody hell up."

Again Granger found the need to interrupt. "You told someone to shut the bloody hell up _when you were seven?"_

"Yes." Draco gave her a puzzled look. "What's wrong with that?"

She clutched her forehead, closing her eyes. "Nothing, nothing. Go on, please." She muttered, thinking she was finally beginning to understand what was wrong with that boy.

Draco shrugged. "If you say so. Now where was I? Oh yes, after I told her shut up. Parkinson got all gasp-like on me at first, then said that when my parents let us back inside, she was going to tell them that I had been pushing her and cursing at her. That got me scared, because my parents would kill me if they thought I had been hurting a girl. So that's when I started to…erm…beg."

He could tell by the sudden pleased look on her face that Granger was picturing a seven-year-old version of him groveling on his hands and knees. Obviously to her it was a hilarious image.

"I tried to talk her out of it. I offered her things. My favorite cauldron, my broom, even my shoes for God's sakes, but she wouldn't take anything. So then I asked her what she wanted, that got her downright delighted. For a few minutes she talked about all these dumb things she wanted, like a unicorn and a diamond tiara…suddenly, she went completely silent, and this evil look spread over her face." He shuddered at the memory. "Then she said, in what I suppose she thought was a sweet voice 'You're a very rich boy, aren't you Draco?'. 'Yes', I told her, 'What about it?'"

Granger was suddenly leaning in very close to him. Draco could feel her warm breath on his collarbone. Hmm. She smelled sort of minty. "Did she ask you for what I think she asked you?"

He turned away from her momentarily. "Well, if you think she asked me for 5 percentof my inheritance, than yes."

In a flash Draco found himself grasped in Granger's hand, her positively horrified face looming right in his. "No!" she said in an almost-whisper, "She didn't!"

"Um, yes, she did!" he squeaked, trying to worm his way out of her fist. "Could you please not suffocate me?"

She immediately released him, and a disgruntled Draco fell into her lap, swearing loudly. "That's really low, even for Parkinson. And you agreed?"

"Yes." He admitted, scratching the back of his head. "What I was I supposed to do? When we got back inside she actually made me sign a contract, and you know how contracts between us magic folk are. You sign, you're bound, no matter what."

Granger shook her head in disbelief. "I just…wow. Pansy Parkinson is purely evil. I mean she made you…hey wait a minute. Why'd she settle for just five percent?"

Draco smirked. "Remember, this is still Pug-Girl - I mean, Most Admirable Empress Who Rules All that is Cheddar and Slytherin - we're talking about. She has always been an idiot, trust me."

"True. So that's why Pansy always freaks out so much whenever you get hurt. If you die, she doesn't get her five percent. And here I was thinking she was in love with you." Granger laughed, giving him a playful poke in the side.

He laughed as well. "Don't remind me." Then suddenly becoming very serious, he said. "You know, of course, that you are never telling anyone about this, right? Because besides Pansy and myself, no one knows about this little inheritance deal, and they're not supposed to."

"I see." Granger raised her eyebrows challengingly. "And is this supposed to make me feel special?"

Draco waited a moment before answering. "No dearest, not special. It's supposed to make you feel _Slytherin_."

Hermione had never really thought about it like that. But if this is what feeling Slytherin was like, than perhaps that House wasn't so bad after all…

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Parvati gasped again, this time more dramatically. "You're…no way…that's…oh my…"

"I know." Ginny looked like this was some of the worst news she had ever received.

"This is terrible. Are you sure?" she questioned anxiously.

"Well, no, but I'm almost positive." She tried to remember exactly what had happened that afternoon. "Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle walked in and said something about how tonight 'the plan' would be in action."

" 'Plan'? Crabbe and Goyle know what a plan _is_? What has Parkinson done to them?"

She didn't respond to this. "And then…" The red head closed her eyes, struggling to remember the Slytherin girl's exact words. "And then Pansy said… 'Right. Everything is in order. That mudblood will be sorry that she ever tried to come between me and my ticket to the Malfoy fortune.'" Ginny's voice faltered. "After that the three of them left and started walking back up to the castle."

The two girls sat is silence, mulling over the fact that their best friend was in love with the ticket to the Malfoy fortune, as odd as that sounded. Then Parvati jumped in her seat. "Oh my goodness! Hermione! They didn't do anything to her did they?"

"No." Ginny said. "I went to the Head Dorms, but there wasn't anything suspicious. It was completely dark in there. I suppose Hermione had already gone to bed. It's no wonder, she's been acting strangely all day, talking to her shoulder the entire time. Distressed, I think."

"The poor dear."

Ginny sat forward on her chair. "My point exactly. If that's how she handles Malfoy being _gone_, think of what she might do if she found out he's _taken_. She'll be crushed."

Parvati nodded. "So…what do we do now?"

"Well, _we_ can't really do anything, but what _you_ can do is promise not to tell her, or anyone else for that matter, not even Lavender." Ginny said in a very business-like tone. "The last thing we need is this news fluttering around for everyone to hear. Do we have an understanding?"

Parvati grinned, please with the deal. "Got it. Hey, I don't think Lav'll be back for a while, want to come to my dorm and try that new spell Hermione showed us last night?" Ginny nodded, and the two Gryffindors started making their way up to the girl's dorm, leaving their thoughts of a troubled friend behind. It didn't take Ginny long to notice that Parvati was being oddly quiet on the way up though, which made her think worries must have not been entirely forgotten.

"What's wrong?"

The other girl squirmed. "I don't know. It's just that doing things like this – hearing new stories, making secret deals – always makes me feel very…_Slytherin_."

Ginny cocked her head. "Huh. I never really thought about it like that." Then, they disappeared into the tower, not once thinking back to Harry and Ron in the common room, who unbeknownst to them, were just waking up.

When Harry and Ron found themselves in the common room, it took them a moment to realize what had happened before they too went up to their dorms, but for a completely different reason.

"I told Seamus not to use that spell if he didn't know what it did!" shouted Harry angrily, before giving a small hiccup.

"Yeah," Ron added meekly, clutching the railing tightly (why did he feel so lightheaded, as if he had hanging upside down?), "That is the last time I _ever_ let him near any spellbooks called _'Pranks, Tricks and Unusual Curses for the Bored Teenager'_."

A/N: I'm sorry…I felt like that was such a cheap ending after making you guys wait for so long. But, um, just a reminder, please don't agree with me in your review! I just wanted to say sorry again for the delay in the story and that Chapter 20 is already finished (which is good for you guys) and will be posted in one week. Don't worry though folks; I'll be on summer vacation soon and then it'll be back to the good times, when I could update twice a week!

So until then, REVIEW!


	20. Pet Names and Parents

**A/N: **Hullu all! I'm sorry for the delay, but I had good reasons - the important thing here is, I'm updating now, right?

_Draco:_ Yeah, whatever.

_Sacagawea: _Don't get flippy with me, mini-man. I could always rewrite this chapter and have Crookshanks eat you, you know.

_Draco:_ /shuts up/

Anywho...on to thanking my wubbulous reviewers: **ShadowFairy101, NitenGale, FlairVerona, Exploded toilet bowl (sorry for forgetting you last time), Alenor, iluvwriting, frifri, samanthaaa, tigerlily727, hops, Karana Belle, FaeRie Fire, DHR SHIPPER, Steelo, snowmouse, anonymous (I may not know who they are, but I'll thank them anyway), Juno's Mome Rath, jesska-14, grafiti rtk (x2**), **pluto, Lady-Crymsyn, Kitten, Lady of the Realm and Hypergurl!**

Now, the chapter!

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 20: Pet Names, Parents and Some Other Word That Starts With a 'P'**

_December 18, 1997_

_A Month and a Half Later_

Harry, Ron and Ginny leaned out of the windows of the Hogwarts Express, trying to convince Hermione to come with them to the Burrow.

"But you'll be so lonely here, all by yourself!" Harry reasoned, waving his arm at the castle. "And hardly anyone's staying-"

"What about _me_?" Ginny pleaded, sticking out her lower lip, "Who's going to keep _me_company over the holiday?"

Hermione merely shook her head and for the millionth time repeated, "You all know I'd love to, but I can't. With Malfoy gone, there are plenty of head duties that I've got to attend to. There's just too much-"

"Work." Her three friends finished together, all rolling their eyes. "We know."

Ron still didn't seem to want to give up. "Why don't you just go up to Dumbledore and tell him that's its your holiday and all you want to do is relax and spend some quality time with your chums?"

She gave him a Look. "That's a great idea Ron. Would you like to go up to the Headmaster and say that for me?"

"Well, er, not really…" He muttered, going pink in the ears, "It was just a thought. But really Hermione, what're you going to be doing for the next three weeks with no one to talk to? Harry's right, you going to get bored."

"Of course I won't get bored. I can-" All three of them cut off her sentence once again, but this time it was with loud groans.

"Don't say it!" Ron warned, covering his ears with his hands.

Hermione frowned. "What? I was just going to say-"

"No!" Harry shouted, "Don't even start. We don't want to hear it."

"All I wanted to say was-"

Ginny wagged her finger. "Ah, ah, ah. Don't say it."

Finally, she stamped her foot in a fit of rage. "I wanted to READ!"

Her three friends laughed. "Oh, Hermione, we're just kidding." Ginny said good-naturedly, patting her on the shoulder. "Don't get so worked up. We know there's no use in trying to stop you from burying your head in books."

Anger forgotten, although feeling a bit stupid for taking them so seriously, she found herself smiling back at her. "Glad you see it my way."

From the front of the train, the whistle blew, letting off a long jet of steam.

Ron jumped in his seat. "We're leaving!"

"Good-bye Harry, Ron, Ginny!" Hermione said quickly, giving each one a hug through the window. "I'll be fine, don't worry. Have fun over the holidays!" She waved at them as the train began to pull out of the station and down the tracks, barely hearing their shouts of "Happy Christmas!" over the roar of the cars. Faces of the other students blurred by her, and soon the steam engine was just a scarlet streak in the distance.

When the train was no longer visible, she turned and walked back up to the castle, amusing herself by thinking of how wrong Ron had been. He had no idea that with the certain "work" that she had to do, there was no _time_ to be bored.

123123123123123123123123123123

Draco had to hurry, but holding a quill three times your height was hard. Not to mention that your writing was rather sloppy, but oh well. It was still legible, and that's what mattered. He had bought himself time by pretending to be asleep when Granger had left, but he knew she would be back any minute.

Draco looked over the letter he had written, making sure that his order was clear. The last thing he needed was to be sent the wrong thing, especially considering what this was for. He nodded with approval, and then walked over to the envelope.

Carefully, sweating profusely under the strain of the heavy quill, he began to copy down the address of the Daily Prophet onto the envelope. More than once he stumbled, leaving great spots of ink all over the hem of his robes. "Mudblood…" he growled to himself. "You…better…love…this…stupid…thing…" There! He hurriedly dropped the quill and then took a precious moment of rest, knowing that he still had quite a bit of work to do.

And work he did. With difficulty, Draco somehow managed to fold up the letter and stuff it into the envelope, even though the whole thing was rather crooked. It didn't matter though. Now for the tricky part…

Draco cleared his thought, and then called as loudly as he could. "HERE KITTY, KITTY, KITTY…erm, KITTY. " He felt downright ridiculous, but this was the only way he would get the letter mailed without Granger's help. She had told him a few months ago that that cat could do just about everything, including getting other animals to do it's bidding. "KITTY, KITTY, KAT!" He yelled. "KIT-"

A loud mewling came from behind him.

The Slytherin whirled around and found himself facing a large ginger cat, about five of six times taller than him. He backed up despite himself, but the cat continued to creep up to him, keeping its eyes wide are staring the entire time. Draco gulped, then bent down to drag the letter over to the animal.

"Eh – hello." He said uncertainly, "I need to you take this to Merlin – he's my owl – and tell him to deliver it to the Daily Prophet. This is sort of important." The cat continued to stare at him, refusing to pick up the envelope. Draco sighed and leaned forward, as if someone else might be listening to the one-sided conversation. "And it's for your owner, Hermione. Can you do it?" he again pushed the letter towards the cat, and to his great surprise, this time it plucked it right out of his hand with its mouth.

Suddenly a voice was heard from outside the bedroom. "Hello? Malfoy, are you up?"

The cat cast him one last penetrating glance before leaping out of sight, disappearing just before Granger had fully opened the door. "Malfoy?" she said again. "Were you in here alone?"

"Yes." Draco responded, hardly believing his luck. Had she come in a second earlier, he would have been busted.

"Oh. I could've sworn I heard Crookshanks in here…he always makes the same noise when he jumps, I'd recognize it anywhere." She said thoughtfully.

Damn! His stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. "Nope, the cat wasn't in here." He said meekly.

"Too bad actually," Granger nudged him playfully, "He might've finished you off for me. Your _hardly_ larger than a mouse."

"Is that the way you treat your boyfriend?" Draco drawled back sarcastically.

Suddenly her face looked as though it turned to stone, and she took on a very serious tone. "That reminds me." She lifted him up off his perch on the nightstand, walking out of the room as she set him on her shoulder. "Let's go down to the Common Room, shall we?"

He knew Granger well enough to tell that they weren't about to have a friendly Quidditch chat over tea. Well, besides the fact that she knew next to nothing about Quidditch and she didn't have any tea, she had actually picked him up without attempting to squeeze the life out of him and/or tickle him. That was rather abnormal behavior for someone who took much enjoyment in torturing him in his time of tiny-ness.

Once down in their common room, she sat down on the couch and settled him on the cushion beside her before talking in a deep breath, as though she was about to start a long speech. It turned out to be quite on the contrary actually.

"I need to talk to you," Granger stated bluntly, "About my parents."

He cocked an eyebrow. What could be so complicated about a couple of Muggles? "What about them?"

"Well, you know why they're coming, right?"

"Yes. They think I'm your boyfriend."

She shuddered. "I'd rather not think about how absolutely disgusting that is. But yes, they think we're going out, and you cannot let them have any reason to think differently."

"And why not?" he said airily. She wanted to tell him what to do? He'd like to see her try. "What's stopping me from telling them that it was all a joke? Or that I'm just _pretending_ to be your boyfriend because you can't get a real one?"

'_Ouch.'_ She struggled to keep the look on her face neutral, despite the fact that she had the sudden urge to strangle him. "Listen here Malfoy. I'm going to make this clear right off the bat: Pretending that we are going out is not for my sake, it's for the sake of my parents. I know is this is going to sound pathetic, but – well, they think I'm hopeless. They've never said or tried to do anything about it but I can just tell that they do. If they find out this is all a sham, they'll be heartbroken, and I don't think I could live with that guilt.

He considered it. "What's in it for me?"

"What's in it for you," Granger hissed, eyes glinting dangerously, "Is that you get to keep your life."

"Right then," Draco said hastily, "Glad we have an understanding. So this means my mother has to believe this too, doesn't it?"

MORE complications? How lovely. "I suppose so. When she gets here, you can take her aside and make up some story about how we got 'together', fill her in so that our parents are all on the same page."

"Sure thing. Just one problem though."

"What would that be?"

He made a show of examining his miniscule nails, speaking rather nonchalantly. "She can't know you're a Mudblood."

"WHAT?" she shrieked and jumped up, causing him to momentarily tumble out of sight as he fell into one of the cracks of the sofa. "How do you expect me to conceal the fact that my parents are **_Muggles_**?"

Draco struggled out of the cushions. "I don't make the rules, I just have to follow them. I Mother finds out that you're Muggleborn there's no doubt she'll act irrationally. And by irrationally, I mean ripping me out of your hand and flying out of here, most likely Crucio-ing you and your family on the way." Granger began to pace, biting her lip so furiously he was sure she would tear it off.

After a few minutes, she settled on the arm of the couch. "Alright, I'll make you a deal. You make our parents believe we're going out and I'll make sure you're mother thinks my parents are two of the most magical people ever. None of them will ever suspect a thing."

Had Draco been his normal size and with a wand, he would have pointed out that both sides of the deal helped her, but considering he was only three inches tall, he decided against it. "Agreed." He said almost automatically, remembering her earlier threat.

Granger seemed a bit surprised at how fast he was willing to agree, and yet a bit ashamed at the same time. For a moment he attempted to decipher the sudden look that had come over her, then realized what it meant: there was more. She wanted him to do MORE. He sighed, "Alright Granger, how much more is there?"

"Just one, I promise!" she said quickly, "If we want to be believable, we have to sound believable. So um…no calling each other Granger and Malfoy."

He was appalled. "What? I've been calling you that ever since we've met! You want me to change _now_?"

She turned away from him, undoubtedly to hide her blushing face. "I understand that it'll be hard, but couples don't go around calling each other by their surnames, so we can't either."

"We can pretend they're pet names." He said stubbornly.

"I don't think so." Granger twisted her body around to throw him an annoyed look. Besides, why can't you just call me Hermione? It's not that hard."

Draco scowled. "I'm not going around saying that dumb name." He paused, a plot forming in his head. "Why don't we just make up new pet names? Then we won't have to use first names at all!"

"I'm not-"

"Yes, I've got it!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers, "I'll be Drakey-the-Snakey and you can be Herm Herm."

By this time she had finally figured out he was joking, but was really not in the mood for jokes. Her parent's happiness depended on this! "Malfoy-"

"Ah, ah, ah. That's 'dear' or 'luv' to you. Drakey-the-Snakey works too if you're feeling-"

"Don't finish that sentence." She cut in sharply, her face beginning to burn. "Look no pet names, okay? It'll lead to a lot of questions. They're going to ask us how we came up with them."

He didn't seem to find this a problem. "That's easy. Yours is obviously just a cutesey versions of your name and ming would be because I'm so-"

Granger looked like she was about to jump out of her skin. "STOP!" she shrieked, clamping her hands over her ears. "Just STOP!"

Draco stared. "I was going to say 'so loyal to my house'. What did you think I meant?"

She gulped. "Um nothing, nothing…" She still seemed rather spooked though, so he decided to stop torturing her. Making someone turn steadily redder could only be amusing for so long. And anyway, he wanted to get the girl off his case so that he could have some quality time with breakfast.

"I give up!" Draco then exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air in mock defeat. Granger gave a slight shake at his sudden outburst. "I'll go along with the 'Draco and Hermione' thing." He paused, pressing a hand to his lips. Hey. Saying that felt sort of…ticklish.

"Excuse me?" she said, her eyes widening down on him from her perch. "My name feels 'ticklish'?"

Draco was too distracted by his realization to care that he had yet again expressed his thoughts outloud without meaning to. "Yes. Yes it does. Hermione. Hermione. HER-_MY_-O-KNEE. Her-_my_-o-knee. _Her_-my-o-knee. Her-"

"I get it." She interrupted, putting up a hand to stop him from babbling. "We call each other Draco and Hermione, I make your mum believe my parents are magic, you don't let any of our parents find out we're not really together and then everyone's happy."

Rather put off that she had ruined the moment for him, he grudgingly said, "Fine. When do we have to leave anyway?"

"Dumbledore sent me a letter a couple days ago." Granger responded, reaching into her pocket. When she pulled out her hand she was holding the yellowish envelope, but another sheaf of parchment fell out as well, fluttering to the ground. Before Draco even had a chance to open his mouth, she had stuffed it back into her pocket as quickly as it had come out. She scanned through the letter in her hand without much expression, but there was the tiniest hint of something on her face, the look people usually had when they had just gotten away with something…how curious…

She pointed to a spot in the letter. "Here it is. _'You and Mr. Malfoy should be at the train station by 1:30 A.M. to meet your parents and a carriage will be waiting to take you all back up to the castle. Draco's mother has made arrangements to arrive here by Floo powder at about 2 in the morning.'_" Granger stopped talking and frowned. "One-thirty? What are we suppose to do until one-thirty? We only have five assignments for the entire holiday, that'll only take me a couple of hours."

Despite himself, Draco laughed. "Is work all you can think about? Why don't you think about _me_ every now and then, I'm _hungry_."

"The thing is Drakey-Snakey," Granger countered, giving him a smirk to rival his own, "You _are_ my work, so I'm not about to forget about you. Not that you'll let me."

He stuck out his arm in a very gentleman-ly way, as though offering it to her. "Well, then let's get to it." As she came his way, he added in a very audible whisper, "_Herm Herm_."

Draco dodged the letter that was suddenly swatting at him, unintentionally joining her in laughter as he ran over to another cushion in attempts to escape.

123123123123123123123123123123

_1 o'clock in the morning_

"C'mon Granger hurry up! I don't want your parents thinking that I was the one that made us late to meet them, they'll get mad at me!" Draco yelled towards the Mudblood's bathroom door from his spot on the nightstand. She had been in there for the past half an hour, and they were supposed to be down at the platform in 30 minutes. "I haven't the slightest clue what Muggles do when they get mad, but it doesn't hurt, does it?"

"Oh quiet, I'm just finishing up." She called. There were a few seconds of silence, then the doorknob turned and she opened the door. _'About time.'_ thought Draco irritably, _'Took her long en-'_

His jaw dropped.

Granger stood in the doorframe, smiling nervously at him. Her hair was perfectly straight and she had put it half up, a single braid lying on the rest, flowing down her back. She had left a curl on either side of her face, which was now brushed lightly with some sort of sparkling powder, making her literally shine. On both of her cheeks she had added extra red color and on her lips she had used a pale pink lipstick. If he hadn't known any better, he probably would have suspected the real Granger had been kidnapped and been replaced with someone very good-looking. Even though her makeup was a little off. The slightly brighter bit of rouge on the left revealed…well, it was still Hermione, alright.

"Well, er, h-how is it?" she stuttered, looking at him expectantly.

Draco continued to stare at her, awestruck.

All at once her face fell, and she blushed crimson under her already red cheeks. "Oh, I knew I shouldn't have put all this on, I'm going to go take off this dumb makeup -"

"GAH! NO! DON'T!" He bellowed. Seeing the peculiar look she was now giving him, he added, in a less panicky voice. "I mean – we don't have time, we're already going to be late. And if we meet them late, then we'll be late to meet _my_ mum." Draco stood up to emphasize his point. "Let's go."

"Right." She answered skeptically, coming over and carefully setting him on her shoulder.

With that Granger set off down the stairs and out of their room, grabbing a cloak to wrap around herself on the way. It was cold in the halls, and even colder outside. Draco stayed pressed against her neck the entire time, but still found himself shivering in the December weather.

When they arrived on the platform in Hogsmeade there were only a ten minutes left until the train was due to arrive. Witches and wizards were scattered all over the place, all chatting rather cheerily considering it was extremely early in the morning. Next to him, Granger stood, oddly silent, with a somewhat worried expression on her face.

A few minutes passed before she spoke. "Listen – Draco – my parents are um, really nice people."

"And I care why?" he asked, puzzled. Why ever would she tell him a weird thing like that?

Granger, or rather _Hermione_, squirmed uncomfortably. "No, what I mean to say is that they're nice people but that they sometimes come off a bit…strong, I suppose you could say. Yes, that's right. They come off a bit strong."

Something clicked in his mind. _Oh._ "I'm used to dealing with crazy people Granger," he drawled, "Remember I've got Pansy following me around everywhere."

"They're not crazy!" she shrilled in indignation. A few nosy people turned to look at her. Lowering her voice a bit, she went on, "They just…" again she seemed to be searching for just the right words. "Really love what they do."

"What do you mean, they really love what they do?" Draco said suspiciously, a note a panic in his tone, "You don't mean they're-"

But what he meant they were was never heard, for suddenly a loud whistle sounded, drowning out the rest of his sentence. The two teenager's eyes flicked upward and again there came the blast of a train whistle, along with the growing sight of a scarlet steam engine, even brighter than usual against the night sky – the Hogwarts Express was returning.

Instantly Granger spaced out, staring wide-eyed at the slowing train. Draco didn't even attempt to speak to her, but instead watched the engine intently, trying to keep the thought of crazed Muggle dentists attacking his tiny self out of his mind. When the train finally came to a halt, large, lumbering wizards all stepped out of all the doors and stood at their posts waiting for passengers to get off.

At the front of the train, a wizard wearing a festive-looking green uniform swung out the door. "This is 34th street, Penn Station. Transfer is available to the 1 train. Connection is available to the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak. Stand clear of th-" A much older looking wizard leaned out of the train and smacked the green-clad man on the back of the head. He scowled, then blandly called out, "Hogsmeade Station, everybody off!"

A people began to flow out of the doorways, some looking tired and grouchy, some attempting to drag heavy trunks, others running to their friends and relatives waiting on the platform, laughing and hugging each other. But as Draco watched everyone get off the train, he didn't see anyone who seemed remotely like they could be Granger's parents. There were no women with bushy brown hair, no bookish-like men, and certainly no Muggles in sight. Perhaps she had gotten the time wrong, or maybe they weren't coming at all…

"HERMIONE! OH HERMIONE! Look George, that's her, right there – Yes George, I'm sure, she just straightened her hair I think - HERMIONE! OVER HERE!"

Granger whipped around, almost knocking Draco off her shoulder. There were two people waving wildly at her from about 20 feet off, a woman with sleek black hair and an extremely thin brown-haired man. She gave them a large (but rather fake if he did say so himself) smile and waved back, then started to walk toward them quickly.

"Mum, Dad, it's so great to see you again!" Granger started, but hardly got a chance to say much else for her parents were hugging her so tightly she could hardly breathe. Draco didn't hesitate to grab hold of her neck, all the while staring curiously at the two people in front of him. At first glance they didn't look much like Granger, but when you looked very closely they did. The woman was small like her, and her father had the same buckteeth she had had up until three years ago and the exact same eye color, but you could hardly tell because of this thick, square glasses. The funny thing was, neither of them had bushy hair. It looked like Granger was just unlucky when it came to that sort of thing, and just didn't happen to inherit her parent's straight hair.

Finally Granger's parents stopped hugging her to death and stood back, smiling in this creepy Muggle-ish way. "So…" her mother bubbled, looking excited. Draco hoped she wasn't about to ask about him. He'd prefer to observe these Muggles for a while before actually talking to them. "Hermione, how are your teeth?"

O-kay. That was a bit weird. "Great." She answered, as if this were one of the most normal questions in the world, giving her parents a toothy grin. "I've been using that new toothpaste you gave me for my birthday, it's really helped my enamel strength."

"Oh, that's great Minty!" her father responded, looking sincerely pleased with this news. _'What the hell is enamel? And what kind of nickname is Minty?'_ Draco asked himself. "And you don't have that plaque problem on your canines anymore, do you?"

'_Canines? She has _dogs _in her mouth?'_

"Nope. I told you, I found a spell for that months ago." She told him proudly.

Her father's smile faded. "Now Hermione, you know how we feel about using magic on your teeth-"

"George." Granger's mother cut in warningly. "Remember, we're not here to argue, we're here to meet Minty's boyfriend. And speaking of him," She gave her daughter an expectant look. "Where is the charming dear? I wanted to ask him a few things about-"

"Not here," Granger muttered back, blushing slightly. "People might see. Why don't I help you bring your things out and then you can meet him?"

They agreed. Granger helped her parents bring their luggage out of the train, and strangely they did not have trunks. Instead they had one odd, thin roll-y red leather cases each and a large pink polyester bag covered with designs of toothbrushes and dental floss. The three took the luggage over to a shadowed area of the platform, with barely any lighting at all.

"Well," Mr. Granger whispered, rubbing his hands together, "Let's meet this Draco Malfoy."

Granger took a deep breath as though wondering if she really should be doing this, but pushed back her hair with her hands to reveal Draco nonetheless. He tried to give the Muggles a bored look, but failed horribly as he was still wondering about the canine thing. The Granger parents stared at him in utter shock for a moment, as though hoping their eyes were deceiving them, that this 3-inch-tall boy wasn't really before them sitting on their daughter's shoulder.

Then, Draco heard perhaps the most peculiar phrase in the universe.

"Oh, isn't he just tooth-tastic!"

A/N: Yay! Next up: Narcissa Malfoy the Drama Queen and odd sleeping arrangements! Chapter 21, we'll see you soon (I'm out of school, finally)!


	21. Perfectly Ruined

**Another A/N: **Double update! GO ME!

**A/N: **This chapter is super-long…hope it's not too boring. I'm going to write as little here as possible. A small note though: I'm not even going to attempt to weave HBP's plot into this story, it'd be much too hard, so while reading this, keep in mind that the sixth year you read in the new book (wasn't it fantastic?) didn't happen for this story.

I give much thanks to my MOLAR-RIFFIC, TOOTH-TASTIC, BEAUTIFUL-AS-A-NEW-TOOTHBRUSH reviewers, and here they are: **Rose Mitzkah, Steelo, undesidedcaoz, carly, PrincessSayoko, cyanideyoudrank, Exploded toilet bowl, PeriPBH, leetmaster (x2), dreamaker13, frifri, Nathifa Femi, American-Angel-07, Lady-Crymsyn, cunzhottie, pluto, Karana Belle, D/HR SHIPPER, Lady of the Realm (x2), graceypoo (x3), Quarashigirl, it wasn't me, Black Padfoot, AlienSmile13, elio, Hazelocean (x2), .Aurorablu., and Sayaku-chan!**

To the Chapter!

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 21: Perfectly Ruined**

"Mum!" Hermione whispered warningly (A/N: Woot! Alliteration!), feeling her face turn warm for the millionth time that day. Why was she stuck with the parents that always said the wrong things?

Mrs. Granger smiled at her embarrassed daughter. "Oh Minty, I'm sorry. But I'm sure you agree with me when I say he is one molar-riffic-"

"Mum!" she yelped, interrupting again, but this time throwing her father a pleading look. He was being of no help though, instead preferring to glare somewhat menacingly at Draco, who seemed frightened despite her father's obvious lack of strength. _'Oh, do I have to do everything myself?' _Hermione prodded Mr. Granger, who stopped staring at once and stuck at his hand toward the tiny Slytherin.

"Hello," he said gruffly, "I'm George Granger, Hermione's father. Pleased to meet you Draco." Malfoy gripped the end of her father's ring finger and shook it, muttering a quiet, "Hello, sir" back at him. The strange sight made her mother giggle delightedly and as if on cue, Malfoy turned to her with a grin, noticing that she had taken a liking to him.

"You must be Mrs. Granger," Malfoy started silkily, pressing his lips to the tip of Mrs. Granger's outstretched fingers. "It's no wonder Hermione's so lovely, she has greatly inherited your good looks."

Hermione and her father snorted at exactly the same time, which caused them both to get death glares from their other half (in Hermione's case, false other half). "Why thank you Draco, you're too kind." Mrs. Granger cooed back, beaming at him, "And please, call me Lucille." Mr. Granger then proceeded to choke on his own spit.

"Mum, Dad, I'm sure the carriage it waiting for us. We still have to go meet Mal-_Draco's_ mother, she's arriving at two o'clock." Hermione said, grabbing her parent's duffel bag and walking away quickly, hoping that neither of them noticed the slip. Behind her, she saw her mother and father give each other quizzical looks before grabbing their suitcases and following her off the platform.

"_Minty_?" An amused voice breathed into her ear. "What kind of stupid nickname is that? And here you are telling me not to call you Herm Herm."

Hermione scowled and hissed, "Hey, I'm not the one going around telling other people's mums how gorgeous they are."

"I never said she-"

"It's no wonder Hermione's _so_ _lovely_, she has greatly inherited _your_ good looks." She mocked, precisely imitating his silky tones.

"I was being charming." Malfoy said defensively. "In case you didn't notice, she was very pleased with me. Unlike your father. What did I do wrong?"

He sounded genuinely hurt, so she decided to answer him seriously. "To tell you the truth, I don't think you did anything. He's just being Dad, skeptical at first, but eventually nice and friendly as Mum. He treats his dental patients the same way. Well, except he doesn't introduce himself as 'Hermione's father'." She added.

"Great," he groaned, "Now I'm being treated like a dental patient."

"Oh, and speaking of dentistry, they're probably going to want to examine your teeth."

"WHAT?"

Hermione would have answered (okay, so she probably wouldn't have), but just then they had come upon the Three Broomsticks, where Madam Rosmerta was waiting, holding the reins to a thestral-driven carriage. "Are you Miss Hermione Granger and parents?" she asked, seeing them walking toward her.

"Yes. Thank you for waiting." She responded politely, trying to avoid looking at the scaly horses. Madam Rosmerta handed her the reins, muttered, "You're welcome", and walked back inside the pub without another word. Hermione instructed her parents to climb into the carriage and settled herself in as well. "Go please." She called to the thestrals and then they were off, practically zooming back up towards the castle.

"Will that nice Headmaster of yours be meeting us when we arrive?" her mother questioned.

"I think so." Hermione said, wondering about it herself. "Dumbledore'll probably have to put an enchantment on the two of you so that you can see the castle. There are spells on it that make it invisible to Muggle eyes." She paused, looking at the person seated across from her. "Dad, why are you glaring at my left shoulder?"

He jumped, and immediately began to stare at the sky as though he had been doing that all along. "I wasn't. I was just thinking about a few things I wanted to ask Draco."

"Oh." Hermione answered delicately, her mouth suddenly becoming very dry. "Well, I don't, er, really think that, um…he's up to that right now…what do you think Draco? Do you mind if Dad asks you a few questions?"

Malfoy gave her a blank stare. "I don't know Herm, it really depends on what you want…"

She was beginning to panic now. "No, it's alright, you decide. Really. _Really_."

"If it makes you happy, t-then I'm happy." He stuttered nervously, going very white. Oh God. This was the perfect time to lose their cool, right at the very start of things. "I'd prefer if you told me what _you_ want to do."

"No really, you can do whatever you want, I don't care either way."

"Neither do I."

"So, then YOU decide."

"No, you."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"Aren't you two the cutest things?" Mrs. Granger exclaimed, throwing her arms around a startled Hermione. "George, don't you think that these next couple weeks are going to be so much fun?"

Her dad looked apprehensive, and could hardly keep the sarcasm out of his tone. "Yes. Very fun and indecisive, I'm sure."

"Oh, George, you're so silly."

123123123123123123123123123123

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, such a pleasure to see you again." Dumbledore greeted Hermione's parents, helping Lucille down from the carriage. "I welcome the two of you, welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The Granger parents stared at the towering castle for the longest time before Hermione's father cleared his throat. "Erm, Headmaster Dumbledore, sir…there's nothing here. There's just a road sign that says 'Danger, Do Not Enter, Unsafe' and an old house." Mrs. Granger nodded weakly in agreement.

"Dear me, I forgot!" Dumbledore exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air, "You need to have the proper enchantments or you won't be able to see. Just a second…" he snapped his fingers and suddenly his wand appeared in his hand. Dumbledore then began to wave his wand over the couple. "_Veneficus Conspicio_!" A white-blue smoke came floating out of the end of his wand, wrapping around Hermione's parents like a snake. It lingered around them for a few moments before dissolving into the air.

George and Lucille then looked at the building before them and gasped. Hermione smiled to herself, remembering the first time she had seen Hogwarts, glad that her parents were now here. "Oh, it's absolutely beautiful!" her mother said breathlessly.

"And so big!" added George, and Hermione distinctly heard a note child-like fascination in their tones. It was this sort of thing that made her happy to be Muggle-born. To her parents, magic never lost its, well, _magic_.

Dumbledore looked pleased as well. "I'm glad to see Hogwarts hasn't lost its touch." He too gazed up at the castle as though seeing it for the first time, now talking to Hermione "The castle is quite breath-taking though, isn't it?"

"Yes." She said absently, glancing at her watch. "Um, Professor Dumbledore, do you think we could…?"

"Ah, yes." The Headmaster answered, adjusting his half-moon spectacles. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger? Come, let's all go up to the castle, Draco's mother should be here any minute."

It was very hard to try and get the Granger parents to move quickly back to the Head Dorms. Every millimeter at least one of them seemed to stop and say, "Wow, what's _THAT_!". Dumbledore was quite willing to answer their questions, but after a while Hermione was fed up. She was debating with herself whether to Petrify the both of them and levitate them back to her room, but in the end decided against it considering the Headmaster was standing right in front of her.

They finally arrived at the Head Dorms at 2:57 A.M., thanks to an extra long chat with the picture of the animal-loving wizard hanging outside the door ("Look Lucy! He's got 6 canines!"). Upon looking around the large common room, Hermione gladly noted that Malfoy's mother hadn't arrived yet.

Dumbledore found no need to stay any longer. "Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure you can see to assisting Narcissa when she comes? Good. I think I'll go down to the kitchens for a cup of hot chocolate before bed…" He made his way back out of the portrait hole, bidding the Granger's goodnight as he went.

The room fell silent. Malfoy, Hermione and her parents all settled on the couch nearest to the fire, trying to warm themselves after being in the cold halls for so long. Every few minutes someone might open their mouth as if they were going to say something, but no words actually came out. They all knew what they had to do and that was wait, even if it took a while.

After almost 20 minutes, at a quarter past three, the flames in the fireplace turned emerald green and flared high, as tall as a human being. They could see a slim shadowy shape emerging from the flames. The figure paused for a moment, most likely brushing ashes off their robes. Then, she stepped into the light, holding her head high and looking extremely regal: Narcissa Malfoy. Mrs. Malfoy looked around at the other people in the room, her gaze lingering on Hermione's parents, who were both equally shocked. Suddenly –

"OOOOH, a kitty!" Draco's mother squealed, running halfway across the room to where Crookshanks was sleeping on the desk. Narcissa swept the giant cat up into her arms and began cooing at it unashamedly. "Aren't you a sweet little kitty, so fluffy and warm…"

"Mother!" Malfoy said sharply from Hermione's shoulder.

Narcissa turned around and her eyes brightened, as if for the first time noticing the rest of them were there. At once, Malfoy's mother dropped Crookshanks out of her arms. "Draco!" she glided over to where Hermione was sitting and plucked the three-inch boy off her shoulder. "Hello darling, you don't know how much I've missed you…you know, you're looking a bit puny, have you been eating all right?"

"Mother, I've shrunken down to the size of a bug. Of course I look puny." He muttered back, squirming in her tight grip. His mother was attempting to give him a hug without squashing him, but he just kept slipping away.

Mrs. Granger must've felt this was the perfect time to introduce herself. She leapt up off the couch and smiled widely at Narcissa. "Draco's such a charming boy, I'm sure your very proud to have him as a son. I'm Lucille and this is my husband George." Mr. Granger tipped his hand from the couch, apparently not eager to greet anyone that just stepped out of a fireplace. "We're delighted to meet you."

Narcissa stared at the other woman with a blank expression. "Who are you?"

Malfoy cleared his throat nervously. "Um, Mother, there's something I haven't told you…These are Mr. and Mrs. Granger, they're Hermione's parents, they're here for the holiday's too." He stopped talking, registering the puzzled look she gave him. "Look, Mummy darling…Hermione – the girl right there, the one who's been taking care of me for the past few months – is my girlfriend and these are her parents. They wanted to meet me. I though you'd like to get to know them too."

"Future in-laws!" Hermione's mother chided happily, grabbing Narcissa's free hand and giving it a squeeze.

Mrs. Malfoy looked back and forth from her son to Hermione, as though not knowing how these two people could ever be a couple. "Well, Draco," Narcissa said stonily. "There's really only one thing I have to say." Hermione thought about closing her eyes. Maybe being Crucio-ed with your eyes closed hurt less. "FINALLY!"

Both Hermione and Malfoy's mouths dropped open. Narcissa was beaming at them, looking ecstatic. "When I came here before, I could tell that the two of you had feelings for each other and just didn't want to show it – especially after Draco let it slip that you had kissed him." Narcissa motioned to Hermione. "And I'm so happy that my little Drakey has a girlfriend, I was beginning to think he was hopeless!"

At exactly the same time, Hermione blushed and Draco paled.

'_HOW COULD SHE SAY THAT IN FRONT OF MY PARENTS? They're going to kill m-WAIT! HIS MOTHER THOUGHT HE WAS HOPELESS?'_

'_HOW COULD SHE SAY THAT IN FRONT OF GRANGER? She's going to kill m- WAIT! MY MOTHER THOUGHT I WAS HOPELESS?'_

"Draco, it's not polite to yell out to the world that your mother thinks you're hopeless." Narcissa told her son sternly. Then, she half-handed, half-tossed him back to Hermione, winking heartily. Hermione felt like throwing up. Pretending to go out with Malfoy was definitely getting to her. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him.

Mrs. Granger was almost jumping in excitement. "Can you believe it?" she gushed to Narcissa. "I wonder if my mother's old wedding dress will fit Hermione, she was a lot taller than her-"

Narcissa shook her head. "Oh no, no, no, Mrs. Granger, I insist that you let me buy one for Hermione, she's going to need something stunning, something entirely new." she tapped the side of her head in thought, then spread her arms out wide, positively glowing. "Perhaps something made entirely of shining silk, mutated silk worms have been thriving lately, it would be perfect! What do you think, Granger?"

"Call me Lucille." Hermione's mother told her. "I think George has a tie that would look simply marvelous on Draco-"

"Is that what they're wearing for wedding's these days? Ties? At traditional weddings the men just wore a black suit under open robes. But, I suppose we go with whatever's popular, I want to keep up with the times!"

Oh no. Oh _NO._ They weren't…they weren't planning a _wedding_ were they? A wedding…honestly…Hermione imagined herself standing in a ridiculously frilly and shiny wedding gown next to an extremely groomed Draco Malfoy, who was wearing a black suit and one of her father's horrible old bow ties…actually, he didn't look half bad…

'_SNAP OUT OF IT HERMIONE!' _her sane self shouted at her. _'DON'T GO FANGIRLY ON US NOW, WE NEED _OUT OF HERE_!'_

Not stopping to think, Hermione stood up, and Malfoy, who had been hiding out inside his robes, lifted his head. Narcissa and Lucille were still chattering away with wedding plans completely ignoring George, who looked as though he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"We're going to bed now!" Hermione announced loudly. For the second time that night the common room fell completely silent.

"WE?" George said finally. "What do you mean '_we_'?"

Hermione drew herself up to her full height, hoping that would help the confidence in her voice. "Draco and I. Both of us are very tired, it's been a long day. So, goodnight Mum and Dad, see you in the morning. Goodnight Mrs. Malfoy, it's been a pleasure to meet you again. You and Mum can go up and stay in Draco's room, and Dad, I guess you're stuck down here." She added to them, shrugging. With that, Hermione made her way towards the stairs, not expecting her father to come tearing after her before she even touched a step. He whirled her around to face him.

"The two of you sleep in the same room?" he asked her in an oddly strained voice.

"Yes, I wasn't aware of that!" Lucille shrilled. Narcissa was indifferent; Crookshanks had showed up again and she was too busy petting him to notice much else.

Hermione stared at her mother. Was this the same woman who just moments ago was planning her wedding? "Well, of course we have to sleep in the same room. Draco can't really manage on his own, can he?"

"But surely," her father breathed, "Dumbledore protested! You're teenagers! Teenagers that are dating to make matters worse!"

"What?" Hermione said, simply not understanding the point he was trying to get across. What would it matter if they were teenagers? Suddenly, her eyes grew wide with realization and perhaps another urge to vomit. "DAD!" she yelped. "He's THREE-INCHES-TALL! What could we – How could you – Why would you think-" She began to splutter incoherently, and Malfoy took the opportunity to defend himself.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I assure you that Hermione and I would never, erm….do anything…_bad_, or, um, stuff. We're very proper and everything and, well, like she said, I _am _only 3 inches tall." The angry couple continued to look at him untrustingly. Malfoy sighed. "I'll put it this way. Even though Hermione is one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen," He signaled a significant glance her way, "You can trust me to stay in line."

Lucille literally broke down crying at his words. "That's as beautiful as a new toothbrush!" she sobbed, collapsing on the couch again. "Prettiest girl he's ever seen…trust him to stay in line…George, I say we give them a chance! How could you refuse after that?"

"I still think-"

"Narcissa!" Mrs. Granger interrupted, calling over to Malfoy's mother.

She looked up from Crookshanks, who she had been tickling behind the ears. "Oh, did you want my opinion on this?"

"Yes." Mr. Granger said through gritted teeth.

Narcissa obviously wanted to get back to playing with Crookshanks. "I'll go with whatever Lucille said." She said vaguely, and then squealed at the gingery cat. "Who's a kitty? You're a kitty! You're a kitty, yes you are, and yes you are, little kitty…"

Everyone except Mr. Granger grinned triumphantly (well, not because of the 'kitty' thing, the first part). "Oh, alright." He grumbled. "Remember though, Hermione, I-"

They were up the stairs before he even started.

123123123123123123123123123123

Hermione and Draco were sitting in the bed, positively howling with laughter. "Okay, okay," Hermione giggled, poking him in the side, "Say it again."

Draco stood up and began fluttering his eyelashes rapidly in an imitation of his mother. "The bridesmaid's can wear green dresses with little bows all over the bodice-"

He jumped to the side, now pretending to be an overexcited Mrs. Granger, hopping all over the place. "OOOOOOOOOH! Can the dresses be _MINT_ green? It'll be all the more tooth-tastic if they were!"

Draco switched back to being his mother, now viciously petting an invisible cat. "Oh you kitty-witty-itty-bitty-litty-mitty-pitty…what did you say? Oh, of course, what ever you want."

"Wait, who's wedding are you planning? I didn't approve of this! It doesn't sound proper to me!" Hermione said in mock outrage, frowning in a perfect imitation of George Granger. "Where's Draco? I need to glare at him!" Once again the two teens dissolved into loud laughter, making the bed shake so much that they were in danger of falling off.

"That's one thing our parents are good for," Malfoy managed to say, "A laugh." He noticed that suddenly she was sitting silently with a forlorn look on her face. "What's the matter with you Granger? You look like you swallowed your quill."

"It's just…" her voice had an unmistakable quiver in it and it seemed as though she was doing everything in her power not to blush. "Did you really mean the bit about me being one of the prettiest girls you've ever seen?" she asked shyly.

Malfoy gulped. "Oh. That. Right." He could tell that she wasn't teasing him in the least, so had absolutely no idea what to say. True, she was rather good-looking, especially at the moment, but he couldn't exactly tell her that, it was be too weird. "I um… well, I think you're prettier than my mum."

"You WHAT?" To his shock, Hermione once again burst into a hysterical fit of laughter, rolling around on the bed, clutching her stomach. "You – you said – hahahahaha…"

"I don't get what's funny!" he said loudly. How dare she laugh at him after he just called her pretty?

Tears were now rolling down her cheeks. "That's the ultimate cheesy line!" she burst, still laughing her head off. "HAHAHA!"

He paled in embarrassment. "I'll have you know that that's a great compliment! My mother is a very attractive for her age." He yelled back defiantly. It just made her laugh harder. Finally, out of anger he yelled, "Shut up, you stupid Mudblood, your hurting my ears!"

Hermione stopped laughing at once. "_What is the matter with you?_" she hissed at Malfoy. "What if your mother hears us, do you have any idea what she might do? I swear, if you-" He dodged out of the way when he saw her hand coming. "Stay still!" she whispered fiercely, making another wild grab at him.

Malfoy stuck out his tongue at her childishly. "Haha. I may be five feet shorter than you, but I'm still a lot faster." He teased.

She stared at him. Was he willing to forget that she had yelled at him? Was he really going to just let her off on his on? Hermione studied his carefree face for a moment, and then decided that, yes, he was. She couldn't help but be somewhat impressed; since when had Malfoy been forgiving?

"Try me." She countered.

"Oh, I will." Malfoy said, giving her a challenging grin before diving into the covers.

"Why you little -" Hermione laughed, scrambling after his small figure. It was a lot harder than she would have thought. He could move fast and hide quickly and she didn't want to accidentally squash him so could only step on so many places. Occasionally he would pop up on a random spot on the bed, and just when she was about to pounce on him, he would disappear, only to do the exact same thing a couple of minutes later.

After almost fifteen minutes of chasing him, Hermione was out of breath. She flopped over on her back, breathing heavily. "Alright Malfoy, you win. I'm too tired, come on out." Silence. And no movement on the rest of the bed either. "Malfoy?" Again, no response. "Malfoy, where are you?" She sat up on her elbows to look around. Where could he be?

To her surprise, he was right in front of her, sitting on her stomach with a smirk plastered over his pale face. "Miss me?"

Quick as lightning, she leaned forward with a triumphant "Ha!" and almost had her hand closed around him when he darted forward -

Just at that moment the door opened. "Minty, where's the bathro - _what in Vesalius's name are the two of you doing?_"

They froze instantly at Mr. Granger's words. Malfoy was clinging to the side of Hermione's robe with one hand and she was clutching her own hip in a half sitting up position, and both of them looked distinctly ruffled and out of breath. Hermione's father stared at the two for a moment with his mouth opened, before diverting his eyes to the floor. "Hermione. Draco. Please come downstairs." He said in a dangerously calm voice.

"Dad…" she said weakly.

He wouldn't have it. "Now. Both of you." George opened the door wider and motioned for the two of them to come with him. Not even daring to glance at each other, Hermione took Malfoy in her hand and she walked down the stairs after her father, hanging her head. Once back down in the common room, he gave Hermione a soft push toward one of the couches. He chose to stand up, a glint in his eye that meant that this was to be strictly business.

"Explain."

Before she could even open her mouth, Malfoy suddenly yelled, "SHE MADE ME!" Hermione gave him a wide-eyed look.

"What are you talking about?" she hissed.

He shrugged and whispered. "Nothing. Call it panic."

Right then, both of their mothers appeared at the top of the stairs, hurriedly pulling on their dressing gowns over their pajamas. "What's going on?" Lucille asked. She and Narcissa were running down the stairs, not once taking looking away from the huddled group (Well, Narcissa did because she was holding Crookshanks, but Lucille was actually paying attention).

"Your right on time, your daughter is about to explain just that." Hermione's father answered dryly. He turned back to Hermione and Malfoy with his arms crossed over his chest as if to say 'This better be good'.

"Dad, we weren't doing anything wrong." She said defensively, "Draco and I went upstairs and we were talking." (They needn't know that they had actually been making fun of them). "We did that for a while until-"

Malfoy cut in. "Until I said something about her being a slow bookworm-"

" - We tease each other like that - "

" – And then I dove into the bed covers so that I could prove my point - "

" – By not letting me catch him - "

"…But THEN she gave up - "

" – So I called 'You can come out now', but he wouldn't come out because he was actually sitting right there on my robe - "

"And she tried to catch me but she was still to slow." Malfoy allowed himself a smirk. "I darted up her side, but at the same time she sat up to catch me and that's why we looked so tired when you found us, and why we in such an awkward position."

Mr. Granger was still towering over them. "That's not a very good explanation."

"But it's true!" Hermione said fiercely. She didn't remember ever being so angry with her father, except for the time he didn't let her read for a week. But at least he had had a reason for that. Here he was constantly attacking her simply because she had been having some _good, clean_ fun with a boy! Isn't that what he always wanted? Wasn't he the one that had always thought her hopeless?

Thankfully, her mother was on her side. "George, you're being ridiculous." Lucille told her husband firmly. "Draco and Hermione were only playing, it was purely innocent. You should be happy that Hermione has found someone so nice instead of trying to chase him away-"

"I'm not trying to chase Draco away!"

"Oh, yes you are. That's what you've been doing ever since we got here!"

He looked scandalized. "I have nothing against Draco, and I am certainly not trying to chase him away. You know that, don't you, Minty? Don't you, Draco?"

Hermione would've liked nothing better than to say, no, she did not know that, how was she supposed to know that with him acting like this. She would've liked nothing better than to lift Malfoy off her shoulder and tell her father that he had greatly offended the both of them with his accusations. She would've like nothing better than to conjure up a sugar bowl and pour its contents in her mouth while watching him squirm. But she didn't. It wasn't his fault that they were all off to a rocky start, and it wouldn't do her any good to blame him for it. Instead, Hermione nodded and, seeing her at it, Malfoy did the same.

He gave her a small smile that made Hermione feel like restraining herself was totally worth it. "Thank you for understanding, you two. You have both taken this situation like mature adults. So I'm sure you'll understand when I tell you my decision, " George Granger paused. "We're changing the sleeping arrangements."

Pandemonium broke out.

"George-"

"Dad!"

"It was all Granger's fault-"

"Draco!"

"Hermione!"

"Minty-"

"Mum!"

"Kitty, kitty, kitty…"

"QUIET!" Mr. Granger bellowed. All was silent except for Crookshanks's loud purring.

"Now everyone listen up," Her father said sternly, "I trust you Minty, but I just don't think it's very proper for two seventeen-year-olds to be sharing a room, especially when they have feelings for each other." Good enough, Mr. Granger was so distracted he didn't notice the looks of disgust that flash across their faces at this comment. "So, instead of tempting you, we're just going to switch things around a bit. I'll sleep in your room with Draco; you, Lucille and Mrs. Malfoy can sleep in the other. That way everything will be perfectly safe."

'_Tempting me? Switch things around a bit?'_ Hermione was so flabbergasted at her father's decision that the only thing she could manage to say was, "3 INCHES TALL!"

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Draco was perched on the edge of the nightstand, twiddling his thumbs and swinging his legs back and forth. Mr. Granger sat up perfectly straight on the bed, arms crossed over his chest, staring ahead as though he was the only one there. From the next room Draco could hear loud giggling and suddenly found himself desperately wishing to be with Granger again; at least she would talk to him and not glare at him as though he were a felon. And she wasn't obsessed with teeth.

"So." Mr. Granger stated, as thought saying the word 'so' was an actual sentence, "What is your usual sleeping arrangement? You and Hermione don't sleep in the same bed, do you?"

"NO!" said Draco a bit too quickly. Gosh, why did he feel so nervous around Granger's father, like he had to impress him or something? Calming down, he continued. "I usually sleep over here, on the nightstand." Draco lied. Well, it was partially true. He did_ used _sleep on the nightstand, before his bed got smashed during the sleepover anyway. Since then, he had usually ended up on Granger's pillow or on occasion, hair. "And G-_Hermione_ sleeps over there, on the bed. There is about two feet of space between us at all times, I swear." Dammit, there he went again! What was wrong with him?

George looked at him skeptically. "Oh. I see. And you just sleep right there on the table? With no bed or blankets or pillows? Isn't that uncomfortable?"

Ugh, logic. Why didn't he think of that? But Draco wasn't Hermione's lying teacher for no reason. This was an area of his expertise. "No, actually. I just, you know, curl up here, in my robe." He patted the wood in a fond sense. "It's quite a…different, eh, sleeping experience."

"Really?" said George, beginning to look somewhat interested. "And your muscles aren't all seized up in the morning?"

"Not at all." Draco said smoothly. Yes, things were finally turning his way! "In fact, this sort of relaxes all your muscles, let's them…_breathe_ more." He settled himself on his back, hands behind his head. "I may never go back to beds after this." _'Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar…Ah, I flatter myself.'_

Mr. Granger looked fascinated beyond his control. "That's amazing. Perhaps I should try that on the coffee table once we get back home…I'm sure Lucille wouldn't object…." He trailed off, but was brought back to earth by a loud BANG in the next room. "What _are_ they doing in there?" he mused aloud.

"Do we really want to know?" Draco responded amusedly.

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Hermione came out of the bathroom right as Narcissa was saying, "I'm so glad to be here! This'll be just like a sleepover, except I'm married and over forty!" It made her want to turn around and hide out in the shower all night, which she was just planning to do when her mother spotted her.

"Oh, Minty! Come here and try these candies, they're so…zingy!" Mrs. Granger said, patting the floor spot next to her.

Hermione walked out to the middle of the room and saw that Narcissa had conjured three large sleeping bags and they were all circled around what looked like half of the merchandise from Honeydukes. Her mother was polishing off a bag of Fizzing Whizbees before her very eyes and Hermione decided it would be safer not to tell her they were chock-full of sugar (knowing her mother, she would probably have a heart attack). Narcissa was eating a Peppermint Toad while watching Crookshanks play with an old sock. An open trunk stood in the corner of the room, so Hermione assumed that it was Narcissa's and she had shrunken it to transport it there.

"Hermione!" Mrs. Malfoy said happily, in a tone that distinctly reminded her of one she had heard 49 days ago. "I'm glad you're finally here. Lucille and I thought that since this is sort of a girls-night-in, we should have a little party." Hermione sat down on her sleeping bag, keeping her eyes on Narcissa. Was this going to be **T**he **R**ose **G**ame fiasco all over again?

Mrs. Granger's eyes suddenly brightened. "Let's start off with a game! Everyone knows the best part of sleepover's are the games."

Narcissa clapped her hands. "I know! Why kick this off with any old game when we could do everyone's favorite activity…" she dropped her voice to almost a whisper. "…Sharing our, deepest, darkest secrets."

'_Oh, scratch that last thought. This is going to be so much worse than anything Ginny could've managed.'_

"I'll go first," volunteered Hermione's mother, before also beginning to whisper. Narcissa leaned forward and Hermione found herself being forced to as well. "Well, once, when I was three…I told my parents that I had brushed my teeth…when I _didn't_."

Both the women suddenly began to giggle, and it made the hair on the back of Hermione's neck stand up, especially upon hearing Narcissa's extremely high-pitched tittering; there ought to be a law against anyone with children giggling!

They calmed down within a few seconds. "Alright, my turn." Narcissa laughed. Hermione was forced to lean forward again in order to hear her. "Sometimes, when no one's looking…I pick my nose!"

At that moment, a BANG came from the corner of the room, covering up the shrill giggles of the mothers. Crookshanks had hit the side of the trunk in attempts to reach his precious sock, making the lid slam shut. Hermione made to go check on him, but her mother pulled her back down. "He's alright, Minty, you know Crookshanks is made of stronger stuff than that."

"And it's your turn!" Narcissa added, as though it were a treat and not some cruel, unusual punishment.

Hermione racked her brains for something to say. Did she even have a deep, dark secret? "Back in third year I had a Time-Turner which I used it to go to extra classes and save the life of Sirius Black and a hippogryph." She muttered finally, shrugging.

Nobody laughed. Her mother threw her a look that clearly read, "You're embarrassing yourself". She couldn't believe it. Here she was telling the most interesting story and she gets the cold shoulder. How fair was that?

"That was fun." Narcissa said lightly, throwing off her disappointment at Hermione's secret like a mask. "Let's do something else now. Why don't you decide this one Lucille?"

Her mother rubbed her chin for a moment, and then cracked an evil grin. She was looking directly at Hermione now, speaking slyly. "I've got something. We'll all take turns, but I'm sure Minty'll be glad to go first. We're all aware that you and Draco didn't exactly used to get along…" At these words, realization flickered across Narcissa's face and, she too, was now sporting a wicked grin. "So, why don't you tell us the story of how the two of you got together?"

Hermione felt the color drain out of her cheeks straight away. 'The story of how she and Draco got together'? One minor problem with that: they _weren't_ together. She supposed she could always make it up…but what if she didn't have a chance to clue Malfoy in about it before he was questioned about the same subject? Or worse, what if she wasn't able to come up with anything at all? What if she just sat there with her mouth opened while Narcissa and her mother steadily grew more suspicious?

Great. Everything was perfectly ruined.

**A/N:** There. Done. Let me know if any of you survived reading through all that.

Until next time, where there shall be more confusion, laughter and cat hair:

_Sacagawea_


	22. How To Not Go About Tricking Your Parent

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 22: How to Not Go About Tricking Your Parents**

"The kitty says MEOW, the kitty says MEOW, what does the kitty say, the kitty says MEOW!"

'Ugh…soooooo…sore…and such…bad singing…' 

"Kitty, kitty, kitty CAT, kitty, kitty, kitty CAT, kitty, kitty, kitty CAT!"

'And now my ears are sore too…great…' 

"The KITTY-KITTY-KITTY says MEOW-MEOW-MEOW!"

Draco couldn't take it anymore. "FOR THE SAKE OF WIZARD-KIND, WHOEVER THE HELL IS SINGING, _SHUT UP_!"

An icy voice answered him. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, if you ever talk to me that way again I will personally wash your mouth out with soap. I won't even have a House Elf do it this time."

Draco's eyes snapped open. He was lying in a twisted heap on the nightstand next to Granger's bed, which would explain the extreme sore-ness. His mother was standing over him cuddling a grumpy Crookshanks. On the far right of the room was the balcony, and through the glass panes Draco saw that it had snowed last night, blanketing the whole of Hogwart's in white.

"It won't happen again, Mother," he muttered, "I was having a bad dream, I didn't mean to yell at you…Where's Granger?" he added, trying to sit up, but his muscles were refusing. Ouch.

"Which one?" Narcissa hummed. She had swept away from above the nightstand and began to do a sort of waltz with the giant ginger cat. Crookshanks didn't look like he was enjoying it.

He blanched. "I mean – what I meant to say was – Where's Hermione?" Draco managed finally. Oy, Granger was going to kill him for slipping up, if she found out anyway. There was only a slight chance of that. Besides, there was something much more important that he needed to tell her.

"Hermione? She's somewhere or another. Wasn't there when we woke up, I assume she went out."

"Out?" he repeated. Where was there out to go to? He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He had gotten used to going everywhere with her, the thought that they were separated again after last night was dreadful. If Draco didn't have some proper conversation with someone soon he would probably go crazy. Mr. Granger wasn't really that interesting to talk to, unless you were an obsessive dentist or a Draco-Hater. _'He'd probably have a grand old time he were talking to Potter and Weasley.' _

Just as Draco was considering actually making conversation with his crazed mother (she was again talking to Crookshanks in a high-pitched cutesey voice), the sound of approaching footsteps was heard outside the door. "Hello?" said a female voice. His heart lifted. Granger! Conversation! Finally! The door opened, and the Gryffindor herself came in, hair back to normal from yesterday's straightness. She looked surprised that Narcissa was there. "Oh, I'm sorry Mrs. Malfoy, I didn't know you were in here. Am I interrupting anything?"

"Not at all, and I've told you before, call me Narcissa." His mother tutted, gliding over and patting Granger on the arm, while somehow managing to hold onto the huge cat. "I only came in here to wake Draco up."

Granger fidgeted, sneaking a nervous glance at him. "Oh. Well, um, I see that he's up, so I'll take him from here. Dumbledore is downstairs, he told me he wanted to meet with you and my parents to check that you're all settled in."

"I'd better go see him then. Come down when your ready you two!" With that, Narcissa was off down the stairs, tickling Crookshanks under the chin as she went.

The room fell silent. Granger stood rooted in her spot and Draco in his; the two of them simply stared at each other for a moment, and then the next moment it had happened. She had run across the room and collapsed on the bed, grabbing him off the nightstand before they both began to spill everything they had been holding in since early that morning.

"I thought I was going to _die_-"

"He interrogated me for hours-"

" – I couldn't believe it, it was just like the sleepover minus The Rose Game, and yet somehow worse-"

"…He asked me about my wisdom teeth and just about had a heart attack when I asked him what they were-"

" – Then after Truth or Dare my mum and Narcissa went on some sort of sugar high from all the Fizzing Whizbees and started doing the Irish Jig-"

" – It was a big mistake to asking him what he meant by "The Study" of dental floss-"

" – I didn't actually know my mum could dance like that-"

" – I told him that wizards generally didn't use floss, considering the advancements in magically enhanced toothpaste these days-"

" – Come to think of it, it was sort of creepy -"

" – After that he sort of gave me the silent treatment until I lied and said that I used it." Draco finished, distinctly out of breath. Granger had stopped a few seconds previous, and was gazing at him with the oddest expression. "What?" he questioned. "Is there something on my face?"

She just seemed to realize she had been staring at him. Granger shook her head, laughing, "No, Malfoy. Now, don't you dare quote me on this later, but I've never been so happy to see another human being in my life." She didn't give Draco time to make fun of her. "Do you mind if I just magically stick the two of us together so that I don't have to go through that sort of torture ever again?" she teased.

He smirked. "Not at all," he responded in his usual drawl, "Because if you ever leave me alone with your father again, I am going to have to kill you."

"If you ever leave me alone with 'Cilly' and 'Cissy' again _I'm_ going to have to kill _you_. I didn't know a couple of mums in there 40's could be so annoying. They just kept giggling like idiots the whole time…have you ever heard you mother giggle?" Granger demanded.

"Yes." Draco almost felt himself vomiting at the memory. "Once when I was five my parents went to a party and came home sort of drunk, and my father kept tackling her-"

She cut him off, somewhat pink in the face. "Okay, don't want to hear the rest of that. But look, erm, Draco, there's something I have to tell you."

'_Draco'?_ What the hell had she done that was so bad she had to call him by his first name?

"What?" he said slowly.

Granger took a deep breath. "Well our mothers sort of asked me how the two of us got together and since we aren't, you know, together, I made up a story."

He felt like his heart had stopped. "You did WHAT?"

"It's not my fault! They asked me about it, and we would've given ourselves away if I refused-"

"No Granger, you don't understand." Draco answered, eyes wide with shock.

"I did the same thing."

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"Granger, don't you dare panic."

Hermione looked at Malfoy as if he were crazy. "How do you expect me not to panic! We've messed up! On the first day! We came up with two different stories, I knew this was going to happen, I _hate_ myself, my mum and dad are going to find out and then _they'll_ hate me for lying to them and for not really having a boyfriend…" she buried her face in her hands. "I'm such an idiot."

"Although I'm not about to contradict that statement, I really must tell you this again: do not panic. Panicking would be bad. I did not stay up half the night listening to your father babble about toothpaste so that we could let everything fall through this fast. My God, aren't _you_ supposed to be the ever-fighting Gryffindor?"

"Ambition is a Slytherin trait." She mumbled, her voice muffled.

"Uh…" he said intelligently, "Shut up. Now stop eating your hands and tell me the story. Our parents will get all suspicious-like again if we're up here alone, get to it."

Surprised and maybe a bit impressed at how willing he was to take charge of the situation, Hermione looked up at Malfoy and tried to recall exactly what had gone on after her mother had asked to hear how she and Draco had gotten together…

_/FLASHBACK/_

"Erm."

Mrs. Granger leaned forward in interest. "What was that Minty, dear?"

Hermione cleared her throat. "I said 'erm'. Mum, I'd rather not tell you about it, it's a bit silly-"

"Nonsense!" Narcissa exclaimed, stuffing an entire Peppermint Toad into her mouth. "I'm sure it's very romantic. Please, Hermione, tell us the story…we won't tell our stories unless you do, so let's get to it!"

"Maybe we should all go to bed?" Hermione suggested in a squeak, "It's really late you know, and I'm really tired." She feigned a yawn and patted her sleeping bag. "Yes, think I'll just curl up here and get some shut-eye, plenty of stuff to do tomorrow…don't you ladies also want to sleep?"

Her mother grabbed her arm, rolling her eyes. "We sleep all the time Minty! Besides, it's not every night you get to have a sleepover with your mother and your future-mother-in-law, is it?"

'_No, and I'm glad of it too.'_ Hermione thought to herself, but decided to give in. "Alright. The story of how Draco and I got…together." She tried not to spit the last word out, but it sounded that way all the same. "This is a long, complicated story that is filled with, um, drama and suspense. And it's romantic too. I think." She added in an undertone. Even if she had said it loudly no one would have heard though. Narcissa and her mother had both began to giggle again, looking delighted that they were going to be told a story.

"Well, dear, don't keep us waiting, start, start!" Narcissa squealed.

Hermione took a deep breath._ 'It's all right, you can do this! Just remember what Malfoy taught you in lying lessons…remember that sappy romance novel you read once…remember to blink…remember not to throw up at the horrible mental images.'_

"It was a nice day in October, about a month after he became tiny." She started lamely. "We had some homework to do, so Draco and I decided to help each other. But then I…lost the assignment! Yes, I lost the assignment ever though that's very unlike me. So, Draco helped me finish."

Narcissa interrupted. "Were there candles?"

"I – what – excuse me?" Hermione spluttered.

"Were there candles?" Mrs. Malfoy repeated, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "All the most romantic things happen by candlelight you know. Or with chocolates. And sometimes oregano."

For a few seconds, she could only blink. What kind of stupid question was that? But, if they said so, "Of course there were candles!" Hermione waved her arms wildly, "Lots of them. But there was no chocolate…or oregano. Anyway, so after Draco helped me with my homework, I thanked him, but he just pretended not to hear me." Oh wait. That's the sort of thing Malfoy would actually _do_. She would have to make it sound like he was doing it for a reason other than to be a jackass. "I thought he hadn't heard me. I thanked him again and this time he stood up and started yelling at me."

Hermione's mother lifted an eyebrow in surprise, "He yelled at you? Why ever would he do a thing like that, he's such a sweet boy!"

"I raised him, after all." Narcissa said proudly, before sitting forward on her haunches to focus on the story again. "Alright, what happened after that? What was he yelling at you?"

"He was yelling that I shouldn't be thanking him when he should really be thanking me!" she exclaimed, in a sudden burst of inspiration. Yes, yes, yes, it was all coming to her now! The perfect story! Take THAT, Malfoy! She could be a good liar after all. Even if that wasn't exactly something to be proud of, it was no matter. At least her current problem was solved.

Hermione dropped her voice down to an almost whisper, her tone dramatic. "Draco told me that I was so dumb – I was always acting like I owed people things when I was really the good person. I was kind, had the best grades in our year, talented and…" here, she managed to giggle, "Beautiful. I was flattered, but didn't know what to make of it. Did all this mean he liked me? Or was he just throwing around compliments? It was all so confusing."

Malfoy's mother clapped her hands. "OoOoOoOoOoH! Confusion! Drama! Compliments! Is this the part where he brings out the chocolate and oregano?"

"Narcissa," Hermione muttered, fighting hard to keep from letting a bewildered look overtake her features, "Not to be rude, but there was no oregano involved."

"Oh. Was there chocolate then?"

Mrs. Granger found the need to interject here. "If there is Minty, I do hope it was sugar-free."

"It was. I mean, it wasn't. Look, there was no food, okay?" Hermione was very annoyed at this point. "Right, now where was I…oh yes. Now the thing he didn't know was that I had had a bit of a crush on him since 5th year. What were there not to like?" she started ticking off his 'good qualities' on her finger. "He's intelligent, cunning, witty, athletic and to top it all off, he's extremely good-looking!"

'_Telling so many lies at once has definitely got to be bad for my karma.'_

Narcissa tossed her hair proudly at this comment. "He got that from his mommy."

Hermione tried to smile at her, but instead it looked like some sort of grimace. Malfoy also seemed to have inherited his over-large ego from his mommy. "Anyway, it was then that I knew I couldn't hide my feelings for him any longer." She gushed. "Of course I knew it would be a bit risky. He could have been leading me on the entire time, we had only started being on good terms and I wasn't sure how much he had changed. But it was at that moment I knew what I had to do."

_/END FLASKBACK-Y-NESS/_

"Wait, we were doing homework?" Malfoy interrupted, his expression sour. "That's so...I don't even know what it is!"

"You try and make up a romantic story for your own mother!" Hermione huffed, glaring at him. "I was under a lot of pressure! Anyway, then I told them that I asked you out right then and your mother burst into tears of joy." She paused, nervously, "Please tell me your story was exactly the same thing."

Malfoy sighed. "Granger, it's about as different as a Firebolt to a Shooting Star. And it's a lot more interesting. Asking me out over homework, talk about _boring_."

Hermione felt like wringing his neck. "It doesn't matter if it's more interesting! We need them to be the same." She glanced towards the door. "Either one of our parents could come in here any minute, you don't have time to tell me your whole story. Just let me know the important stuff, I'll try and figure something about before someone brings it up - "

"It's your own fault we don't have time, Miss Go-And-Have-Really-Long-Flashback." He sneered, but didn't hesitate, seeing how freaked out she was getting. "Okay, long story short: I asked you to Hogsmeade after you complimented my flying, you went with me to the Three Broomsticks, I won you over with my incredible charm/intelligence and then we shared one wholesome kiss under the stars. Oh and you were wearing a lovely blue sweater that reminded me of the old magic carpet my grandfather owned."

She merely blinked. "What? Kiss? What?"

He paled in an embarrassed sort of way and shrugged. "I wanted some action. Besides, I thought you'd want it to be something romantic, so I tried to make something sufficiently lovey-dovey."

"…"

"Granger. Say something."

"Malfoy what are we going to do?" she said in a very strained voice, "I made mine in October, yours is in the beginning of the school year, your still normal sized in yours, I made you be shrunken already and I don't even own a blue sweater!"

He stood up. "Calm down, would you? It's not like anyone but our parents have to know this, they don't even have anyone to talk to except for themselves and I hardly think you're father is going to repeat the story to you mother."

"You're right." Hermione answered, regaining some control over herself. Malfoy looked taken aback at the fact that she hadn't started shouting again. "I'm getting all worked up over nothing. Like you said, they don't even have anyone to talk to."

Lucille Granger banged the door open, beaming. "Guess what, you two lovebirds? We're going to have Draco's birthday dinner with the Headmaster tomorrow! We can all have a nice long chat with the man who helped bring the two of you together. Won't that be fun?"

**A/N:** I feel so bad. And cheap. I'm sorry I didn't update before, I was going to include the dinner in this chapter, but went brain dead. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time and I'm sorry for giving you this horribility chappie. I promise that both Chapter 23 and 24 will be coming much sooner and will be much better written!


	23. Dinner With Dumbly

**A/N:** Okay, let's see...I suck. There I said it. I can't even explain why I've been gone so long, or why I have to give you guys this transitition chapter. I'm sorry. I'M SORRY. But here, I shall thank those who bothered to review this horrid thing last time -

**Jenny, graceypoo, frifri, hpobsessor, Lucifer's Lair, prettigurl17, Karana Belle, pluto, rizahawkeye21, Kaydotsidot, DracoFan, anonymous, CrystalNite, Chou Hime, existence92, hanvu, kikikiwi, Exploded Toilet Bowl, MissAlwaysNotRight, auteur-passionne, and Bryony!** Thank you guys for sticking with me! Now, to the chapter!

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 23: Dinner With Dumbly**

"_Well_?"

Hermione looked at Malfoy in the mirror.

This sounded completely loony, but that's what she was doing. He had refused to look at his own reflection, saying it would be 'bad luck' on his birthday, and asked her to do it for him. She honestly had no idea why she had agreed, not to mention that she hardly understood why it would be bad luck to check your own reflection.

"You look fine, let's go." Hermione urged, biting her lip as she turned her head towards the stairs. "My parents are waiting!"

"Let them wait." Draco snapped back, although he couldn't look very intimidating with his hand over his eyes. "I want to look nice for my birthday dinner. By the way, speaking of expensive gifts," he spun around from the mirror, "Where's my present?"

Hermione picked some cat hair off her blood-red dress robes. "Crookshanks sheds so much…I hope he isn't going bald…better get this stuff off me though…" she trailed off, running towards the bathroom.

Malfoy dropped his hand. "Granger! Granger, get back here!" he yelled.

She continued to ignore him, not even stopping to take a breath until the bathroom door was safely shut. Once there, she leaned against the door and sighed with relief. That was close. If he asked more questions about his birthday present, she might just crack. It's not that she didn't have one – she did, and it was a very good one too – it was that it wasn't completely ready yet. She had tried to finish it the day before, but she and Malfoy had had to keep their parents from finding out about the different stories and such, so she didn't have the time. Hermione knew that if she didn't get it together soon she was simply going to have to forget it and give him something else. But this would mean so much to him. She would have to get it in time. She just had to.

'**And since when do you care so much?'** a tiny voice shrilled, **'Why is it so important that you get him this? You know he doesn't deserve it.'**

'_But no one deserves to be in that sort of situation.'_ Hermione told herself reasonably, _'Besides, I have to get him something, it's the rules. I can't give up being Head Girl for anything.'_

'**You _can't_, or you don't want to?'**

'_Well both, but…hey! I'm not just in this for Malfoy, okay? I like being Head Girl very much, for many different reasons.'_

She didn't know it was possible to be sarcastic at yourself until she heard the voice say. **'And you liking this position has absolutely NOTHING to do with him, right?'**

Hermione wrenched open the bathroom door and stomped out, grumbling to herself (or at herself, really).

Malfoy was ready for her, hands on his hips and all. "Granger, I don't know why you think you can just wander off when I'm talking to you, I'm a very important person you know, and you're lucky I even take the time to grace you with my conversation - "

"Tell me, dear Draco," Hermione said, rolling her eyes as she set him on her shoulder, "In your current state, how many other people can you 'grace' with your conversation? Oh, that's right, only me. I do suggest that you stop trying to tell me off, considering if I get mad I'll ignore you, in which case you'd probably explode from lack of blabbing. Or are you thinking of actually talking to either of our parents?"

He shut up. Fast.

Hermione then drew herself up to her full height, threw her chest forward and walked out of the bedroom with her head held high. It was then that she realized she still had cat hair all over her robes. And that she wasn't wearing shoes. And that Malfoy hadn't had a chance to spray on that mint cologne in hopes that Mr. Granger might finally like him. But, it was too late, for everyone was already in the common room. Hermione could see that all the furniture had been cleared and replaced with a beautiful redwood dining set.

Narcissa was waiting for them at the bottom of the staircase, looking very elegant in her floor-length midnight blue robes. Hermione was horrified to see that her parents were already seated at the table with Dumbledore, chatting idly.

"Don't the two of you look simply lovely?" Mrs. Malfoy cooed, gathering up Hermione's hands within hers. "You rather remind me of me and my husband, if my husband were three inches tall, or if I had strangely unruly brown hair. Or is we were seventeen…"

Hermione could only blink. Malfoy was unsuccessfully choking back a laugh.

"Anyway! Let's sit down, shall we?" Narcissa continued, leading them over to the table. Next to Hermione's seat was a miniature table setting. She assumed this was meant for Malfoy, so she let him off her shoulder onto the tabletop. He flounced into his chair and straight off began to examine the silverware.

Dumbledore chuckled. "It's real, Mr. Malfoy. I merely shrunk it for you."

Malfoy responded, but Hermione did not hear what he was saying. She had just noticed her mother, who was sitting across from her, and was presently staring at the woman in total disbelief.

"Mum." She said, trying to keep her voice even. "What _are_ you wearing?"

Lucille beamed at her daughter. "Isn't it _gorgeous_? Cissy lent it to me! She said my other dresses look like 'filthy Muggle clothes'. Besides," she giggled delightedly, "It's so airy! You wouldn't believe how free I feel."

Free would probably be how one would feel wearing something like that. Mrs. Granger was donning light pink dress robes made out of a gauzy, almost see-through material. It dipped down generously at the front in a way that instantly made Hermione sure she was scarred for life. The robes were obviously made for someone much taller and longer-limbed than her; the sleeves were hanging over her hands rather childishly, and the waist hung much too low.

Basically, it was not the sort of thing you would even want your mother to be wearing.

"Well, it certainly is…interesting." Hermione said weakly, looking to her father for help. He, however, was wrapped up in a conversation of his own.

"Actually, Professor Dumbledore, I'm sure you can solve your back problems with this trick Draco showed me. How did it go again, Draco?"

Malfoy got very nervous. "Oh right…well, you just have to sort of curl up on some wood, and I've found that it really works for me. Helps your muscles breathe more...and stuff…"

"I'm hungry too Draco, thanks for asking!" Hermione said loudly, saving the boy just in time. She turned to the rest of the table. "Will we be eating soon? After all, we don't want to keep the Birthday Boy waiting, right? Am I right?"

Silence met her.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, looking thoroughly amused at the fact that Hermione had to be nice to Malfoy in front of the adults. "Of course you are, Miss Granger. Let us begin – now!"

With a wave of his hands, food appeared on all the plates set before them. Everything looked delicious, and even Narcissa and Lucille stopped talking for a moment in order to fill their plates. For the next ten minutes, the group ate peacefully, speaking only to ask for another dish, or to comment on how good the food was. Hermione and Malfoy both settled into an unexplainable calm. They knew they had to be on their toes throughout this dinner, but it is rather hard to be stiff when everyone around you is radiating a cheerful spirit.

"Maybe everything will be alright." Malfoy murmured to Hermione as she attempted to cut off a small enough amount of turkey for him. "I think they've forgotten all about it. I haven't heard any of them speak a word about us this entire dinner."

She put the tiny piece of meat on his plate. "I've noticed. I didn't think it was possible for my mum to shut up, but apparently I was wrong."

The two allowed themselves a quiet laugh, but it turned out to be a huge mistake.

"Oh, look at them, isn't that sweet?" cooed Mrs. Granger, speaking as if Draco and Hermione weren't sitting right in front of her. She turned to Dumbledore. "How did you manage to pick the perfect children to become Head Boy and Head Girl?"

"Well, that's obvious, dear," Mr. Granger said in a reasonable voice. "They had the highest grades in the school. The real question is, Mr. Dumbledore, how did you get them to fall for each other?"

Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice. Did her _father_ just ask that?

Dumbledore smiled secretively. "I don't think that's really my story to tell. Of course, you know that traditionally Slytherin and Gryffindor students haven't gotten along very well."

"What's Slytherin an – OW!" Mrs. Granger yelped, rubbing her shin where she had been kicked.

"Sorry Mum," Hermione chirped. "What were you saying Headmaster? Oh right, candy…"

Her father gave her a look. "Actually, he was just telling us about how you and Draco -"

"LOVE CANDY!" shouted Draco, starting to panic. "Yeah, me too! Chocolate sure is good."

"Don't be silly, dearest, we want to hear what the Headmaster has to say about you and your girlfriend…"

"Lollipops are tasty!"

"Hermione, what's gotten into you?"

"Yes, let the Headmaster speak!"

And then, suddenly, in the midst of confusion, an orange streak flew through the air, nearly flying over the table – and landed directly on top of the miniature table setting.

"Malfoy!" Hermione shrieked.

"Draco!" yelled The Grangers and Dumbledore.

"_KITTY_!" squealed Narcissa happily.

Crookshanks merely meowed as Narcissa lifted him from the table and into her lap. The little table had been smashed to smithereens, leaving tiny bits of food splayed across the table. The entire scene displayed ruin. But where was Malfoy?

"Has anyone noticed that I'm down here?" a familiar voice drawled.

Hermione pulled back her chair from the table, searching, and then, lo and behold, there was the Ferret, swinging gently from the edge of the table cloth.

She eyed him blankly. "How on earth did you get down there?" she asked.

"Granger, why can't you just be a nice girlfriend and get me off this thing? I can't hang on much longer."

Making sure to nearly break him in two as she did so, Hermione plucked him off the table cloth and nearly threw him back down onto the table.

"Now, Hermione, why are you angry? I didn't mean to get attacked by your stupid cat." Malfoy said.

"Stupid cat…! You really think that's what this is about?" She knew it was bad to lose her cool right here in front of all the adults, but she couldn't stop herself. Couldn't even the simplest of things like a dinner go the way it was supposed to? Why did everything have to keep falling apart?

Malfoy stood up, crossing his arms over his chest in a very business-like manner. "Then what is this about?"

"Well…" she trailed off. His eyes were open wide. Very wide. So wide she could see them beginning to water. Upon seeing her studying him, he managed to crack them open to their fullest.

_Oh._

"Well," This time Hermione began much more forcefully. "I hate it how you go around, acting invincible when you're not. Yes, Crookshanks could've killed you, but that's not the only time you've done dangerous things like that and come out like it was nothing. Don't you see Draco? I -" She held back a sob. "Care about you. I care about you so much, you couldn't even know. I don't ever want anything bad to happen to you."

A single tear slid down her cheek.

Malfoy solemnly laid his hand on her fingertip, speaking in a voice so low and comforting it would make any girl swoon. "And I care about you. But I'm stronger than you realize, Hermione. Sometimes you have to let me go. I would never want to make you unhappy. That's enough to keep me safe."

"Really?" Hermione began to smile through her tears. "You mean that?"

"With all my heart." He said gallantly, with a bow of his head.

From the otherwise silence, Narcissa began to quietly cry as well. Mrs. Granger leaned over, speaking to the other woman in a whisper, "I know, it's beautiful, isn't it?"

Narcissa shook her head. "No it's not that. The cat just scratched me."

To the cheers of Mrs. Granger and the appreciative smiles of the two men, Hermione gathered Draco up into an awkward hug, which he returned as best he could. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dumbledore raise his wine glass to her, and mouth "_Bravo._".

She had never loved anybody as much as she loved Malfoy at that moment.

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"I'll now take my leave of you." Dumbledore voiced, standing up from the table after his fifth slice of birthday cake. He bowed slightly at Draco, "Best of luck in your next year Mr. Malfoy. I shall see you all tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Headmaster!" Lucille called, watching him exit the portrait hole. She sighed. "What a nice man. Who wants more cake?"

Magical birthday cake was much more amusing than normal cake. Not only was the cake decorated with dozens of moving icing-Dracos, it tasted different every time you had a slice. So far Hermione had had chocolate, peanut and blueberry cake. She was quite eager to see what was next, but as she opened her mouth to ask her mother to cut her another slice, a yawn escaped her. She was very tired. Tending to psychotic adults took a lot out of you. She noticed that Malfoy was also starting to look a bit sleepy-eyed.

"Actually, I think I'll head on up to sleep. How about you, Draco?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, thank you. Just drop me off in your room on your way up." Hermione lifted him onto her shoulder. "Well, goodnight everyone." She said, making her way towards the stairs.

"Hold on a minute."

Hermione turned. Of course. Her father. Again. What _now_?

"Well, Hermione, I was just thinking…after what I saw at the dinner table tonight, I understood something." George Granger said, almost sheepishly.

Hermione perked up. "That Draco and I, although attracted to each other, are both very responsible teenagers that deserve your trust?"

"Um, no. What I meant was that I saw how hard it was for you to even hug Draco, considering his size. It's obvious that you wouldn't be able to," he coughed, "Try anything. So I've decided that you two can have your room again. I'll sleep down here, and Mrs. Malfoy and your mother can go share Draco's old room."

She nearly jumped out of her skin. "Oh, Dad, thank you!" she squealed, and charged up the stairs, Malfoy clutching her hair for dear life.

"He has to stay on the nightstand though!" Mr. Granger shouted after her, "Remember that, Minty!"

Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "I know, I know."

Once inside the room, Hermione burst out laughing. "We did it, we did it…" she sang jubilantly, doing a little jig on the spot. "Can you believe it Malfoy? We survived the dinner! We did it!"

"I'm aware." Malfoy answered. "I'm also aware that someone had way too much icing."

Hermione fell onto her bed, not even bothering to change out of her dress robes. Oh, it was good to be back in her room. "Malfoy, I can't believe you claim _I'm_ a kill-joy. Your genius saved us tonight, and you should be proud. How did you get Crookshanks to jump on you like that?"

He began to smile, feeling cocky. "Well, actually, all I had to do was ask. He really is good at following orders. It was you I was worried about. I was afraid you might not catch on, but you came through in the end. I don't know if my eyes will ever be the same again though."

Hermione laughed. "You did good, Malfoy. We've still got to entertain our parents for another twelve days though, so let's get to sleep." She snuggled under the covers.

"Shouldn't we change?" Malfoy asked skeptically. "And shouldn't you put me on the nightstand?"

"Malfoy. Do you really _care_ about changing? And do you_ want_ to go on the nightstand?"

He thought for a moment, and then came to curl up in her hair. "I see you're point."

Hermione put out the light, and it wasn't until she was nearly asleep that she heard Malfoy's voice come out of the darkness. "Granger?"

"Hmm?"

"We make a pretty damn good team, don't we?"

She felt a strangefluttering in the very pit of her stomach as his words. Maybe she shouldn't have had so much birthday cake. "I would have to say we do, Draco. We most certainly do."

He felt the fluttering too. Definitely too much cake.

**A/N:** As you could probably tell, this chapter was all about dropping hints for things to come in the future. It may not seem important, but pay attention to the little things. Please review, even if it's to tell me how awful I am for not updating in so long!


	24. Merry Christmas, Darling

**A/N:** Finally, a chapter I've been waiting for since I started writing this story - Christmas. I won't keep you waiting with my blah-ing. I'll say just two things, in fact. First, **THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS! (rizahawkeye21, sparklingcourtesans, Twitchy the Squirrel, Chou Hime, CrystalNite, pluto, Karana Belle, hanvu, Kaydotsidot, Chrissy8887779999, frifri, Sayaku-chan, SMALLwhitelies, gabers, hpobsessor, Sevana,sarah, BalaLey, and iheartbadboysa.k.a.draco!) **whom I love very, very much. Second, I hope you enjoy this ultra-long chapter, which I give to you NOW:

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 24: Merry Christmas, Darling**

Hermione woke up early that morning. This was odd, considering how late she had stayed up the previous night, but she didn't question it. Besides, upon waking up she remembered what day it was – December 25, Christmas – and knew she would not be able to go back to sleep even if she wanted to.

She was careful to not awaken Malfoy, who was sleeping peacefully, nestled in her hair, a slight smile on his face. Hermione unexpectedly felt that annoying flutter-sensation that had been pestering her for the past few days, and wondered whether she should go see the nurse. Maybe all that sugar Narcissa had been pushing on her was getting her sick. She sure did feel sick in any case, especially because whenever that stupid fluttering came she got a jittery nervous feeling and had to urge to glance at Malfoy. Bleh.

Dressing as quietly as possible, Hermione crept to the door, and began her descent down the stairs. The common room looked like a winter wonderland. Two fir trees stood in the room, the larger one by the window, the other in middle of the room. The larger one was surrounded by snowdrifts and glistening ice sculptures, and the smaller one decorated with colorful ornaments, soft little lights and a giant glowing star on top. The rest of the room had been adorned with gold and silver tinsel, and wreaths covered the walls. Hermione usually didn't like so many decorations (she was more a simple look) but she had to admit, it was quite cheerful.

"Hermione?"

She was not alone. Narcissa came out from behind the tree in the middle of the room, arms laden with gifts. "Oh, it_ is_ you! What a lovely surprise!"

What was more of a surprise was that Narcissa still managed to shock her with a different set of strange robes every day. These were a deep green with glittery red triangular sections coming down in front, and then slashing in from all directions. The hem of the robes and sleeves had red fur on them, the neckline dotted with tiny red fur balls.

"You do seem to go off into trances a lot dear." Mrs. Malfoy chirped, adjusting one of the ornaments on the tree. It fell to the floor and shattered. "Oops." She giggled.

Hermione continued her way down the stairs, going to her. "Why are you up so early Mrs. Malfoy? I mean, Narcissa?"

She nodded. "That's right dear. I'm _Narcissa_. Young, not old and wrinkly, Narcissa." The woman paused. "Anyway. I just wanted to come downstairs and see the trees…and I wanted finish up my gifts."

"Gifts?"

"Well, of course! It is Christmas, isn't it?" Narcissa lifted the pile in her arms. "By the way, does your mother like the color 'arctic blue-green'?" When Hermione didn't answer, she went on. "For dress robes, I mean."

Hermione grinned nervously. "Oh. You got her dress robes. How nice. You know you really didn't have to do that…"

"But I did! You should see the things she wears, looks like a filthy Mudblood in those horrid clothes - "

"No, I mean you didn't have to get her a present." The younger girl said uncomfortably.

"Wouldn't it be rude to only give presents to you and your father though?" Narcissa questioned, cocking her eyebrow in a way Hermione had seen Malfoy perform too many times. "Anyway, it's the least I could do. I've been having such a good time here, getting to know some future in-laws. We should all get used to giving gifts, shouldn't we?"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Narcissa cut her off. "In fact…" she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Would you like to open your gift _right now_?"

"That's very nice of you, but -"

"Great!" Narcissa dropped the presents into an armchair with a delighted squeal and began to dig through the pile, most of which were marked for Crookshanks. Finally her hand emerged, holding a medium-sized box covered in happy snowman wrapping paper. She thrust it at Hermione. "Open it, open it, open it!"

"If I must." She muttered back, but Narcissa was too excited to pay attention. Hermione began to carefully peel off the wrapping paper, trying not to rip it, until Mrs. Malfoy grabbed it from her, tore off the snowmen paper and even threw open the lid of the box underneath. At this point, she shoved the present under her nose.

"LOOK! Isn't it darling?"

It most certainly was not darling. However, Hermione couldn't find it in her heart to break this to the jubilant middle-aged woman, so merely nodded.

Narcissa lifted it out of the box. "Here I'll help you put it on. It will look so festive!". Without allowing Hermione a word of protest, she plucked the gift from it's box and immediately began to work on putting it on Hermione. She squeaked and yelped, but Narcissa was not to be bothered by this; she only pulled harder and ordered her not to make a fuss.

When she was done, Mrs. Malfoy stood back, smiling beatifically. "Oh Hermione dear," she whispered, "Look at you." She took a mirror from a pocket in her robes, handing it to Hermione.

She could only look at her reflection for a moment. Her hair had been taken down from the ponytail she had set it in that morning. One side was sticking straight out, bushy as ever and the other was clipped down with what could only be described as a hair-thingy. She was not aware of whether it was a barette, clip or elastic, but whichever it was, it was huge. The hair-thingy was about six inches wide, a clear star in the middle and ribbons of red and green twirling from its edges. The star had some sort of light inside, blinking a different color every few seconds.

'_I can't believe I'm thinking this,'_ Hermione said to herself, _'But someone should seriously call the "Fashion Police" on this woman.'_

"I know," Narcissa said smugly, seeing how Hermione had not managed to say something even after a few minutes. "I'd be speechless too. I wish someone had been around to give me pretty things when I was your age." She sighed, patting Hermione on the back. "You're a lucky girl."

Hermione laughed weakly. "I guess." Remembering her manners, she said quickly, "Thank you very much, Narcissa. It's a beautiful, um…well, it's beautiful. I'll treasure it forever." Seeing the satisfied look come over Narcissa, Hermione then said, "I think I'll go back upstairs now, get my presents together and everything."

She bolted.

Not even a minute later, she was back in her room, prodding a certain three-inch boy in the side. "Malfoy, Malfoy," she hissed urgently, "Malfoy, you lazy bum, get up!"

"Granger," he rolled over in his sleep, "Stop it. I'm tired, that stupid sing-a-long last night just wiped me out…have some mercy…"

"How about this – you get up, and I don't throw you off the North Tower?"

He groaned. "Good God, Granger, why do you have to be so violent? Alright, alright, I'm getting up - " Malfoy stopped halfway up to a sitting position. "What," he said slowly, "Is _that_?"

"It is your mother's Christmas present to me." She responded through gritted teeth. "She insisted that I wear it."

And of course, just as she predicted, he laughed. A lot. In fact, the next five minutes she spent trying to make him stop and telling him that he did not understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Like anyone could be serious looking at THAT!" he chortled, tears of mirth beginning to run down his cheeks, "Is there some matching dress robes to go with it? Merlin, I'd love to see that – I'll suggest it for your next birthday gift."

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled, jostling the pillow he was rolling around on. "It's not funny." Hermione plunked down on the bed, pouting. "Why is it that_ I_ always have to suffer at the hands of_ your_ mother's psychotic actions?"

"Because that's what in-laws do, luv." He laughed some more. "Besides, I usually have to deal with it on breaks, so now it's your turn. You wouldn't want to make your dear old boyfriend unhappy, now would you?" Malfoy gave her the most idiotic 'dashing' grin and she finally gave in and giggled.

"No, couldn't have that." She agreed. Turning serious once more, she said, "But Malfoy, she also got presents for my mum and dad. What are we supposed to give her?"

A blank look came over him. "Why would you have to give her something just because she's giving something to you?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Because that's proper etiquette, Ferret. Ever heard of it?"

"I know _that_." Malfoy waved his hand dismissively, "But that's for people. It's just my mother."

"This may come as a surprise, but your mother happens to be a person too."

"Still._ I've_ never given her a present."

Hermione blinked. "What?"

"Just what I told you. I've never given her a present." He said again, more firmly.

The two could only look at each other for a moment. Then **SMACK**! The pillow Draco had been sitting on was flung across the bed, him with it. It hit the bed post soundly, just as she had intended it to.

Malfoy was not pleased about this. "Hey! What was that about? What's your problem?"

"MY problem! You're the one with the problem! How could you have never given your mother a present?" Hermione demanded, completely outraged. "I mean, yeah, she's a bit of a basketcase, and she doesn't really seem to pay much attention to you, but the least you could do was give her a pinecone at Christmastide! Or something!"

He ran back to her from across the bed. "Look, I didn't really mean 'never'. I gave her gifts when I was little. After a while though, I never knew what to get her and I'm sure at one point or another she'd get sick of _pinecones_." At this last remark he gave her a dirty look.

"Well, that ends today." Hermione got up from the bed, placing the fuming boy on her shoulder as she did so. Her stance ultimately meant action. "We're going to have to go get her a gift. And we'll give it to her from both of us. Are we clear?"

"Sir, yes sir." Malfoy drawled sarcastically. "What about your parents? What'll they give her, toothpaste?"

"Probably." She answered distractedly, never noticing his puzzled expression. "Now let's go. We've got to find your mum the best Christmas present ever."

"Why do I have the feeling this is going to turn out really, really stupid?"

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"Does your mother like magical creatures?"

Hermione sighed. "Malfoy, she's a Muggle. She wouldn't know a pixie from a chimera."

"How about your father?"

"NO."

Draco and Hermione were in Diagon Alley. However, that sentence does not completely explain their situation, as it was only 10 degrees outside, there was nearly a foot of snow covering the ground (much more in the places that had not been cleared in the past few days), not to mention that most of the shops weren't open due to the fact that it was Christmas Day, and that the snow was still coming down hard, in addition to Hermione's lack of wealth which Draco had openly laughed at considering the only stores open sold expensive and strange items, not that they were supposed to be out of school anyway, because, if caught, they would probably be suspended for sneaking off campus.

Draco and Hermione were in Diagon Alley.

To make it to London had not been an easy journey either. After managing to get all of their parents into the common room for breakfast, Draco and Hermione had to search through all of Narcissa's belongings until they came across the little pouch that contained her supply of Floo powder. Then, they had to get everyone to run _back_ upstairs by saying Crookshanks gotten stuck out on the balcony. With that, the teens had dashed back downstairs to the fireplace, and in a flash of green flames they were gone.

That had been two hours ago, and still they could find no suitable presents for Narcissa or the Grangers (Draco had decided, in order to win Mr. Granger's favor once and for all, that he must get his own present for Hermione's parents).

"This is hopeless!" Draco said, so loudly that the few people who were on the streets turned to look at Hermione. She shushed him, and he went on in a whisper. "There's nothing here, Granger. _Nothing._ Well, unless you want to get our parents 'decorative fried newt skins'."

"Maybe we should've gone to Hogsmeade." She muttered back.

"It wouldn't have been any better. Besides, one of the teachers staying behind for the holidays might've spotted us and then we'd be in trouble. Nobody we know is here -"

"Hermione?" A dreamy voice called.

Hermione whirled around so quickly, Draco had to grab her earlobe to keep from falling off of her shoulder. "Luna…?" she whispered, horrified. Sure enough, the 6th year girl was making her way toward her with a tall, middle-aged blonde man who she supposed must be Luna's father. The two wore matching suits of shiny silver foil, and hats shaped like stars.

"It's the Lovegoods!" Draco hissed into her ear. "Quick, hide!"

But it was too late. Luna had already bounded up to Hermione, smiling vaguely.

"Hermione, what are you doing here? I thought you stayed at school for the holiday. Ginny will be so happy to see you!"

"Ginny?" she squeaked.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Luna said, surprised, "Father and I are spending Christmas with the Weasleys and Harry! They're here too, we're all having dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. I just hope the snowdoozles don't get us." She leaned in towards Hermione, as if sharing a secret. "They disguise there burrows as snowdrifts. Oh, and you might want to take that hair-thingy off. It'll attract the doozles."

"Listen Luna," Hermione said, her blood pressure skyrocketing. The Weasleys couldn't know she was here! What she needed was a reason for the Lovegoods to keep their mouths shut. "Could you not tell anyone I was here? I really should be at school, after all, and if the Weasleys see me…"

Luna nodded. "Oh, of course, I understand. You probably just wanted to get a gift for someone who gave you one unexpectedly. I'll try to keep them away. Come, Father." The two walked away, their silver foil suits shining against the falling snow.

"I will never understand that girl." Draco said after a moment. "Always had an uncanny sense of accuracy."

Hermione, shocked as well, was now desperate to get out of Diagon Alley. "That aside Malfoy, we really should go back to Hogwarts. Who knows when the Weasley's could just appear out of nowh – AH!" Hermione screamed as a blurred red-headed figure threw itself onto her.

"HERMIONE! YOU'RE HERE!" squealed a voice that undoubtedly belonged to Ginny Weasley. "I KNEW you wouldn't ditch me for Christmas!" She turned around, still keeping her hold on Hermione's neck. "Harry! Ron! Look who it is. By the way, what's with the hideous hair-thingy?"

Malfoy, who had climbed into the safe confines of Hermione's hair was her one tie to the world as she began to panic. "Granger, now would be a great time to put my lying lessons to use…"

"Who are you?" screamed Hermione suddenly, throwing Ginny off her. "Who's Hermione? What's going on?"

Ginny's face fell. "Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry and Ron came running up just in time to hear this, and concern washed over them all.

"Hermione…it's us. Harry? Ron? Ginny? We're your best friends." Harry said slowly, reaching his hand out to touch her shoulder. The brunette lurched back.

"I don't know any of you!" she shouted back tearfully. A story began to formulate in her mind. "I was just trying to Floo to my Granny's house and all the sudden I'm here. I was supposed to be going to…" she blurted out the first name she thought of, "Ohio. Where am I? Is this London?"

"Hermione, cut it out." Ron cut in, suddenly very annoyed with her. "I know you probably snuck off grounds and don't want to admit it, especially while you're wearing that hair-thingy, but that's no reason to pretend you're a lousy American."

"My name is not Hermione! It's – Decora Newtskin." Hermione claimed defiantly. "And I want to go to Ohio."

"Hello, everyone." Luna's dreamy voice floated from behind Harry. She stepped to the front of the group, now addressing Hermione. "Hello again, Decora. Did you find your way back to Ohio?"

"Luna, don't be thick, that's Hermione. You don't really believe her little story, do you?" Harry objected.

Luna gave them all a wide-eyed gaze. "Well, I know she_ looks_ an awful lot like Hermione…at first. But when you look at her longer, you can tell that it's not really her at all."

'_I really must consider worshiping this girl.'_

"For example," Luna pointed to Hermione's bushy brown locks. "Hermione can't get her hair to look nearly that good."

'…_did I say worshiping?'_

"And her skin. Hermione doesn't have such a clear complexion."

'_I think I meant something more like…I don't know, maybe -'_

"Her teeth look like Hermione's. But her posture, well, Hermione slouches a lot more because of all those books."

'_Jinxing? No, too kind…'_

"And Hermione's feet are a lot bigger."

'_Maybe I meant "gouge out her eyes". Or kill. Both.'_

"…plus, Hermione's always so grouchy, and look at how happy Decora is even when she's lost!"

Hermione placed a hand firmly on Luna's shoulder. "Thank you, Miss…Luna, was it? Anyway, I really must be on my way to Ohio now. Is that Leaky Cauldron the only shop with a fireplace?" No one answered her, for they were all focused on Harry, who was digging through his pockets.

"This is useless, I'll just check with the Marauder's Map…" he said in frustration.

Ron cleared his throat nervously, his voice gentle when he spoke. "Um, mate…Harry…the Marauders Map won't work…we're not at Hogwarts you see…"

Harry froze and jerkily lifted his head. "What do you mean the map won't work?" he said in a hollow tone. "The map always works because - "

Ron and Ginny cringed, knowing what was coming next -"Here he goes…"

"THE MAP DOESN'T LIE!" Harry shouted to the heavens, throwing his head back and sinking into the snow.

And for once, Hermione was glad of her friend's mental instability. It was the perfect opportunity for her to escape, although not before mouthing a silent 'thank you' to Luna, who seemed to find Harry's sudden outburst quite exciting.

Maybe she wouldn't kill Luna after all. Or at least only gouge out _one_ of her eyes.

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Hermione literally leapt out of the fireplace, dust, soot and snow flying everywhere as she emerged from the tall green flames.

She did not expect to find both of her parents and Narcissa Malfoy sitting at the table nearest to the fire, having after-lunch tea. In fact, it is safe to say that both she and Malfoy had completely forgotten about them. And this, of course, could only bring about more complications than were already present.

"Where," Narcissa said sternly, rising from her chair, "Have the two of you been? It's past noon and we haven't been able to find you anywhere! And what was that business this morning with Crookshanks supposedly stuck on the balcony?"

Malfoy's lie was smooth, almost rehearsed. _'Come to think of it, he probably has rehearsed.'_ Hermione thought, and she could not help but admire him as he delivered his speech grandly.

"Mother, we couldn't help it." He said simply, "We've hardly had a moment to ourselves since you all arrived – not that we aren't enjoying your company immensely," He bowed his head toward Mrs. Granger, who giggled, "But is a little privacy on Christmas morn to much to ask?"

"With, my daughter, yes it is." George Granger grumbled, narrowing his eyes at Draco. "So where were you then?"

"Hogsmeade. But we just walked around for a bit and then decided to head back. Nothing like a Christmas with family!" Hermione said brightly.

Tears filled Lucille Granger's eyes. "Oh Minty, dear, that's so sweet! Don't worry about it, we all forgive you, don't we?" Narcissa shrugged and returned to her tea. "_Don't_ we George?"

"Meah."

Lucille looked at Malfoy and Hermione, rolling her eyes. "That means yes, in George-speak. Did the two of you eat lunch? I'm afraid we already had ours."

Malfoy began to say no, but Hermione stopped him. "Yes, Mum, we ate in the village. We'll go upstairs for a bit, be back soon." As naturally as she could with a hand muffling Malfoy's outraged shouts, she made her way up the stairs, not once looking back at the adults.

She didn't let Malfoy free until they were safe her room, and even then she had to shush him multiple times. "Malfoy, quiet, they'll hear you."

"Good. Maybe they'll bring me food." He snapped, making sure to kick Hermione as he jumped from her hand to the bed. "What was that? I don't enjoy hanging around with our parents any more than you do, but I'm _hungry_."

"Please focus on something other than yourself for once, will you!" She could feel them sinking back into old days, back when they weren't able to agree on anything and turned every comment into a fight. Then again, that's the way things were now, but at least now they did it lovingly.

'_Did I just think that?'_

"And what was I doing just now? I wasn't out there saving my own skin you know, my mother couldn't have cared less. It's your overprotective father that was making the fuss." Malfoy shot back. Her jaw dropped. How dare he attack her dad!

"He's worried about me, okay? I've never had a boyfriend before."

"You don't have one now either, I hope you remember…!"

"Of course I do, but to my parents you're real, even if _we_ are just pretending."

He turned away from her, but his furious voice illustrated the expression she couldn't see. "Well, maybe I don't want to be your pretend-boyfriend anymore."

"Well," her voice wavered, and she struggled to keep her tone steady. "Well, maybe I don't want to be your pretend-girlfriend either."

There was a long stretch of uncomfortable silence.

"Did we just try and break up with each other?" Malfoy asked quietly.

Hermione let her breath out slowly. "I think we did."

He turned back toward her. "You know what the worst part is? That wasn't even the most pointless thing we've ever done, was it?" A devilish smirk began to spread across his face.

She smirked back, "No, I don't believe it was."

For a minute, the two were lost in smiling (or rather, smirking) at each other.

Then, Malfoy clapped his hands, very businesslike. "Okay, the presents. We must get those together before lunch. I assume that's why we're up here?"

"Yes," she nodded, "So we went through Diagon Alley and found nothing. I assume I have _something_ your mother would want lying around…"

"Really? I don't."

Truthfully, she didn't think so either, but didn't want him to know that. "Well, we can get back to that. Right now we should find something for you to give my parents."

"…you know, Hermione, there is an alternative to that." Malfoy said.

"There is?" She answered, crossing her arms over her chest, and taking a seat next to him on the bedspread. "I want to hear this."

"Absolutely. Because you already have a present for your parents, right?" He motioned for her to lift him up to her shoulder and she did so. "We are, after all, giving my mother a present together." Malfoy moved his lips to her ear, speaking huskily, "Besides. You're mother would think it was just so cute. So," he paused dramatically, "What do you think?"

"I think," said Hermione sweetly, "That you shouldn't try to seduce me into things while you're three-inches tall, because it really doesn't have the same effect. But I suppose, seeing as I want to end this scene and get to the exciting part, we can give my gifts together."

Malfoy simply protested that he hadn't been trying to "seduce" her into anything. He did, however, make a mental note not to do so again until he was returned to his normal size.

"Now all that remains is what to give _my_ mother." Draco said thoughtfully, settling down onto Hermione's shoulder. "But what can we give a woman who's completely in love with herself?"

Realization hit them, and for the second time in mere minutes they could only smirk at one another.

They had found the perfect gift for Narcissa.

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_Much Later That Evening_

"Why Cissy, they're gorgeous!" Lucille Granger exclaimed, holding up the arctic blue-green dress robes to her body. "And to get George some to match! You're so thoughtful."

Mr. Granger still looked a bit uncomfortable with his gift. "Narcisssa, are you sure these are for men?"

Narcissa ignored him. "It's nothing, Cilly, nothing at all. And I love what the two of you gave me." She beamed, holding up her gifts. "Authentic Muggle toothpaste and floss! It's classic!"

Draco, Hermione, Narcissa and the Grangers all sat around the Christmas tree in the middle of the common room, exchanging gifts. The group had had their own little feast an hour before and was spending the last bit of Christmas with warmth and togetherness.

At least, that's what they were supposed to be doing. Draco and Hermione were mostly trying not to snigger at their parents' ridiculous-ness. But now, with the adults having given out all their presents (Crookshanks receiving the most out of any of them put together, with a whopping twenty-nine gift count) it was their turn.

"Mum, Dad," Hermione started, turning to her parents. "Draco and I thought we'd give you this present from both of us, seeing as it's our first Christmas as a family like this." Boy she was getting good at lying. Her mother was already cooing delightedly. "So this is from us." She reached under the tree and pulled out a large box.

Lucille peeled back the wrapping paper carefully, as was custom for all Grangers. George folded up the paper as his wife peeked inside the box before squealing, "Oh my! Minty, Draco, they're beautiful!"

She pulled brand new dentist coats from the box, pure white with little dancing teeth around the collar and sleeves. The names "Dr. Lucille E. Granger" and "Dr. George Granger" were emblazoned on each of the coat's breast pocket. Unbeknownst to her parents, Hermione had enchanted the coats to never stain or wear out, so they would be able to use them forever.

But, as always, Malfoy had to take all the attention.

"Perhaps I misjudged you Draco," George mused, pulling on his coat and facing his wife. It fit perfectly. "You and Hermione must have done a lot to get these for us."

"Indeed we did, sir." Malfoy offered in his most polite tone. "I just hope you and your wife can continue to excel in your noble work of dental care."

Lucille lit up. "George, I have a great idea! Next time we have a convention, we can wear the robes Cissy gave us and these coats! We'll be the envy of every dentist in England."

Suddenly, George did not look so grateful.

"What about me?" Narcissa tapped her foot, trying not to look too impatient.

"Oh, we'd never forget you Narcissa. Hopefully you're gift won't either." Hermione grinned as she handed a small wrapped package to Mrs. Malfoy. "From both of us."

Narcissa immediately threw off the paper, leaving it in a wrinkled heap on the floor. "A mirror!" she said giddily, gazing at her reflection with appreciation. "It's so pretty." She was running her hand along the sides when the mirror spoke.

"You're not so bad yourself, m'lady." The mirror sang in response. "In fact, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever reflected."

"IT TALKS! And says nice things about me! What a polite mirror."

Draco smirked, "Yes, we thought you'd like it."

But Narcissa had already wandered off, giggling as the mirror complimented her every feature. Mr. and Mrs. Granger still sat with Hermione and Malfoy, as though waiting for something.

"Is there more?" Hermione asked, peering under the tree. It was bare, save for the carpet.

"Aren't you and Draco going to give each other you're gifts?" Mrs. Granger questioned.

"Oh!" Hermione said, in a strangely high-pitched voice. "Oh, yes, we are." She had entirely forgotten about Malfoy's Christmas and late-birthday presents. She did have them, of course (her time had not gone to waste) but with the craziness of the day, it had slipped her mind. From the look on Malfoy's suddenly paler face, she could tell he hadn't remembered either.

Malfoy cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Um, actually, Hermione, I was wondering if, um, we could, eh," He hemmed and hawed a little more until Mr. Granger cut him off.

"Oh, it's alright. The two of you can exchange gifts in your room." He told them. "We'll just be down here a little longer."

Hermione leapt up from her spot on the floor. "I think we'll do that. Happy Christmas everyone. Goodnight!" She received faint calls from the other people in the room, but frankly didn't care, because there were two awfully good presents for Malfoy waiting upstairs. She only hoped – and she really, really did hope, with everything she could muster – that he would feel the same.

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Hermione disappeared inside her wardrobe once they got upstairs, which gave Draco the perfect chance to retrieve his present.

"Kitty…" he called, trying not to be heard by Hermione. "It's T-I-M-E."

The large orange cat appeared instantly. While he was surprised, Draco had learned that where that cat was concerned, it was better to not ask. Crookshanks held a box wrapped in red and green paper between his teeth. He dropped it at Draco's feet, and without even a 'meow', pounced away.

Hermione came out of the wardrobe with a bag, grinning at Draco with sort of a nervous enthusiasm. "You go first." She said at once. "I have more to give you, after all."

He shrugged nonchalantly, but in reality he was almost unable to keep his own anxiousness. "If you want." He motioned to package next to him, "Here it is. For you." was all he could think to say.

In her irritatingly slow manner, she took off the colorful paper, avoiding any sort of rips or tears. He was about to jump on the gift and take of the paper himself when he realized she was laughing at him. "Calm down, Malfoy," Granger said, "I'm getting to it." She did get to the cardboard box under the paper finally, and when she opened it, froze.

A soft gold light filled the room as the cardboard fell away, revealing what looked like a jewelry box. It was not large, but it was beautiful. The surface of the box was a pure opaline white, each of its edges lined with a gold band. Tiny painted figures of Hogwart's Four Founders were running back and forth across the box's exterior, each wearing their respective house colors. After a few seconds, they all waved their wands and stones fell into form of a castle. Then the scene restarted, displaying the making of Hogwarts over and over.

Hermione made a funny choking noise as the box floated down gently towards her. She took it in her hands, her eyes popping when the box opened of its own accord. The inside of it was lined with pure black velvet, save for a tiny white string protruding from the middle. Giving Draco a glance, she pulled it, and miniscule handwritten note appeared between her fingers. She read it to herself,

_Three months and counting…I'm not sure how we managed, but we did all the same. _

_Merry Christmas, "Darling"_

_Draco Malfoy_

The second she concluded reading the message, it was gone in a puff of smoke and something entirely different had taken its place in her hand. She let out a shriek as her brain registered exactly what it was.

It was necklace, but a necklace unlike any she had ever seen. Dangling off the thin chain was a golden lion, roaring mightily as it stood on it's hind legs. The eyes were made of ruby – actual ruby – that glowed with a raging intensity.

"Did you notice the chain?" Draco threw in, trying not to sound too smug.

This time Hermione brought a hand to her mouth to keep from screaming. The chain was made up of nearly impalpable snakes, each lined with either emerald or silver. It was their joke; he was always saying Slytherin and Gryffindor came together as one in her, and now she had the necklace to prove it.

"Malfoy…Draco." she whispered, clasping the piece of jewelry around her neck. It shone rather majestically against her robes. "This is beautiful…I can't, I can't believe you would get all this for_ me_…how much did this all cost?"

"Not much." He lied quickly, "You like it, right?"

"Like it?" She looked at him like he was crazy, "Malfoy I never want to be apart from this necklace ever again! And the jewelry box is so amazing! I can't believe I'm saying this, but it even beats what you gave me for my birthday." Hermione beamed.

He wasn't listening. Because she liked it. _'She liked it. SHE LIKED IT!' _He told himself, exercising every bit of self-control not to dance.

But Hermione wouldn't have it. "Now you have to open your gifts." She said briskly, pulling the bag she had brought from the wardrobe into sight, and began to rummage around in it. "I just hope I did as good a job as you. Merry Christmas." She placed a long, thin package in front of him.

His heart began to pound. Could it be? There was only one thing he knew of that could be shaped like that. Draco tore off the paper, quickly as he could, and – "A FIREBOLT!" he shouted. And it was. A tiny, model Firebolt, but for him it was perfect. He swung a leg over the broom and kicked off from the bed with a joyous hoot.

"You said you missed flying," Hermione told him, watching as he zoomed around the room, "I wanted to get you something to fix that. It's only a model, of course, so it won't be any use once you get back to normal size, but for now - " He cut her off by flying up to her mouth and returning the light kiss she had given him so many months ago.

Something inside her melted, and when she spoke again, she was breathless. "You know, that's just Christmas, wait'll you see what I did for your birthday."

Reluctantly, he landed on the bed once more. "I highly doubt you could out-do yourself on this one, Granger."

"Au contraire." She countered, reaching into the bag once more. This time she brought out a simple envelope, which she opened to show two piece of parchment. One was new, but the other looked aged and was yellowing. From the new sheet, she read:

_To Miss Caroline Suh,_

_There is no need to involve the Ministry in this matter. Enclosed is the original contract._

_From,_

_Miss Pansy P. Parkinson_

Draco gaped. "What is this? Who's Caroline Suh, and why do you have a copy of a letter Parkinson sent to her?"

Hermione laughed. "Caroline Suh is the name of a lawyer that I made up. Miss Suh informed Parkinson of the Wizarding Law of Contracts, specifically Section A4 of Clause 227, which happens to be nonexistent. Of course, Parkinson had no way of knowing that, and under the threat of the Ministy," She set the older sheaf of parchment in front of him. "She was forced to give up the contract."

Draco surveyed the parchment with wide eyes. It was the contract he had signed almost ten years ago, promising Pansy 5 percent of his inheritance.

"It's yours now." Hermione informed him, "Meaning you can do whatever you want with it."

From his speechless manner, Draco looked up to acknowledge her, a certain glow in his eye. "You mean the two us could go outside and explode it right now?"

Her eyes returned the glow. "That's entirely possible."

"Then what the hell are we waiting for? Race you."

The two both grinned as they made a mad dash to the balcony door, Draco on his new broom and Hermione on foot.

As soon as they were out of sight, the bathroom door opened wider and Mr. and Mrs. Granger entered the room.

"They do love each other, don't they Lucy?" Mr. Granger asked.

Lucille smiled. "I'd have to say they do George. They really do."

Outside, there were shrieks of laughter as the sheet of parchment rocketed into the sky, flaming many different colors at once.

Mr. Granger kissed his wife. "Merry Christmas, Lucille."

"Merry Christmas, darling."

**A/N:** Review!


	25. The Nightmare Begins

**A/N:** First of all - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ME! Double update! Both this and the newest chapter of Art of Being Insane are posted tonight. 'Tis a big accomplishment.

Anyway. This is kind of a dramatic chapter, which only leads into stuff that's more scary and dramatic. I'm not sure if I was able to convey all the tension and whatever, but hey, I tried, right? Now, to thank all the wonderful people who keep me going with their nice comments about this story: **hanvu, Zarroc, Luny Lady, Karana Belle, me, Kaydotsidot, CrystalNite, rizahawkeye21, Tonda, meLLL, SaphireGoddess57, mememe, Sayaku-chan, Steelo, Lovelylady90, and MeLiO! **Thanks again to all, and I hope this chapter satisfies:

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 25: The Nightmare Begins**

_Early Morning - January 6, 1998_

Lucille Granger spoke through the open window of the Hogwarts Express. "Remind Cissy to write, will you? And the two of you take care!" She looked at Draco meaningfully, "Draco, it was really a pleasure to meet you and your mother, I'm confident in saying that you're the best thing that's ever happened to our Minty."

Draco grinned. "Likewise, Mrs. Granger. Thank you for welcoming us into your family." He leaned back against Hermione's neck comfortably. "I assure you Hermione is in good hands."

The train whistle blew and after some shouted goodbyes, Mrs. Granger ducked back into the train and the two pretend-lovers waved the scarlet steam engine out of the station.

"Two down, one to go." Hermione chided, staring after the train. "Then we're totally and completely parent-free. Until Easter anyway." She added with a laugh.

"Don't even joke." Draco warned her, blanching.

Later that day, the train would return with all of Draco and Hermione's classmates and class would resume the next day. Although this would mean that their parents would finally be leaving after the three longest weeks of their lives, it also meant that the two would no longer have so much alone time…which suddenly seemed like a bad thing, despite the fact that neither would consciously admit it.

Hermione now carefully made her way back to the castle, trying not to slip on the new fallen snow. "Hurry up," Draco nagged, "My mother's waiting for us before she goes. She might start crying over that cat again if we don't get there soon."

"I'm going as fast as I can."

"Why, dearest, when _did_ you turn into a snail?" he said mockingly. "C'mon Hermione, a little speed won't kill you." His lips still tingled when he said her name. After Christmas, they had taken to calling each other at all times 'Draco' and 'Hermione' so they would stop slipping up in front of their parents. He knew that this was no longer needed, seeing as they would be alone after today, but there was something strangely likeable about referring to his caretaker by her first name.

"Well, at least at this pace I won't slip an-AH!" She had spoken too soon. For a mere moment she had not given the path her full attention, and as a result she didn't notice that she had taken a gliding step onto a patch of ice before it was too late. With a scream, her feet slid out from under her, and she fell, arms flailing, to the snowy cold ground.

"Ouch!" she winced in pain. Luckily, her head had not banged against ice, but a soft (if freezing) snow drift. Still, the fall had been hard. So hard, in fact, that she could've sworn she felt a weight on her shoulder fly right off – "Oh my God!" Hermione yelped suddenly, realizing that something _had_ flown off her shoulder. "DRACO!"

She leapt to her feet at once, but didn't move for fear of stepping on the boy. "Draco?" she called, peering into the snow around her. All she saw was white. "Draco? Are you there? Draco, come out, where are you? Oh, this is bad, this is so _bad_…" she squeaked to herself, wringing her hands.

An idea came to her. Drawing her wand, Hermione muttered an incantation and a hot steam began to flow out of the tip of the wood, melting the snow where she pointed. She searched for five agonizing minutes before she spotted it – a miniature black robe wrapped around an equally small body. Hurrying over, Hermione thrust her hand into the snow, and emerged with Draco shivering in her palm.

He was drenched and coughing, spewing large quantities of water over the side of her hand. "Are you alright!" Hermione said worriedly, keeping the warm stream of air directed toward him.

"Well, let me think," he said, apparently well enough to be sarcastic, "I fell from the height of five feet and then came close to simultaneously drowning and freezing to death. No, it's actually a great day to be me, thank you."

She shook her head, ignoring his sour words. "I'm sorry, we better get back to the castle fast and warm you up."

"No!" Draco exclaimed, "Really, go as slowly as you want." He shuddered. "I'm willing to wait."

When Hermione and Draco returned to the Head common room, they found Mrs. Malfoy seated on one of the couches, sobbing loudly into an orange lump which could only be identified as Crookshanks.

"Narcissa?" Hermione piped up, "Narcissa, are you alright?"

Mrs. Malfoy raised her head, attempting to regain her composure. Although she managed to make her tears evaporate almost immediately, she was unaware of the clumps of cat hair stuck to her pale face. "Oh, hello Hermione, hello Draco," she sniffed, "I'm fine." She gave Crookshanks a final pat. "Goodbye, Kitty." Narcissa lifted the cat off her lap and went over to her trunk, which stood by the fire. "Did you parents head off alright?"

"Um, yes, they did." Hermione answered, still a bit shaken up over the fall.

Narcissa smiled. "That's good. Well, I suppose I better be going myself." She stepped forward and wrapped Hermione in a tight embrace. "I've had a lovely time with all of you this season, dear. I can see why my Drakey is so happy with you." She took her son from Hermione's shoulder, squeezing him in what she must have thought was an affectionate manner. "You take care of her. I hope that next time I see you, I have to look up."

The woman then shrunk down her trunk, stowing it in her pocket, at the same time bringing out her little pouch of Floo powder. She threw a pinch into the fire, and the room was cast into a greenish glow. She already had one foot in flames when she turned slightly, giving Draco and Hermione a secretive little grin. "Oh, and I simply _loved_ meeting your parents dear. They were very nice…for Muggles."

And with that, she was gone.

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_January 7, 1998_

_4:30 A.M._

A loud knocking was heard outside the door.

Hermione opened one eye. The bedroom was completely dark. She could feel Draco's warm, even breath on her cheek; he remained asleep. She was about to dismiss the noise as nothing when she heard it again, this time accompanied by a voice. Sighing, Hermione pulled on her dressing gown and padded over to the door.

"Ginny?"

Hermione yawned sleepily, surprised to see the red head standing before her, fully dressed. "Ginny, how did you get in here?" She asked, pulling the door shut behind her.

"What, no _'How was your holiday?'_ or _'Thank you for the Christmas gift!'_? Not even an _'I missed you so much Ginny, please come and relieve me from my boredom'_?" Ginny tilted her head back, surveying the room in a very satisfied way. "Nice place. Still," she pouted comically, "Aren't you even going to say hello?"

Hermione laughed and gave the girl a hug. She didn't realize until now, but she _had_ missed Ginny. She missed all her friends. Her free time had dramatically decreased this year, with Draco to take care of – not that it was so bad. _'Not anymore.'_ She thought shyly. But she did wish she could spend time with Harry, Ron and Ginny like she used to. "Come on, let's go down to the common room." She whispered.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Why are you whispering? We're the only ones here."

"Oh, um…well, there's Crookshanks, right? I don't want to wake him, awfully grouchy if he doesn't get enough sleep."

"…Okay. If you say so, Hermione."

The two girls went down to the large common room, and settled themselves on the couch nearest to the fireplace. "So, why exactly are you here at four in the morning?" Hermione questioned, trying not to sound rude.

"Is it that early? I didn't notice." Ginny responded, shrugging, "I decided to check in on you after I was done talking to Parvati and Lavender and some of my sixth year friends – wouldn't shut up, those girls, went on and on about some new high heels they got – anyway, how _are_ you? Were you terribly bored over holiday? I was, and all Harry and Ron wanted to do was follow Fleur around **(A/N: Decided to keep the fact that Bill and Fleur got married) **so I had absolutely nothing to do. Christmas was better, I had Luna to keep me company, but then she and her father kept going around in these funny silver clothes looking for snow doobies - "

"Doozles." Hermione corrected automatically.

"Oh, yeah." She stiffened. "Wait, how did you know that?"

"Luna got me a subscription to _The Quibbler_, remember?" she lied smoothly, "It was the lead article in last month's edition."

Ginny grinned. "I forgot all about that. I suppose that shows how bored you were, considering you think that _The Quibbler_'s an old rag. But anyway, I didn't tell you – on Christmas day we went to Diagon Alley and there was this girl who looked_ just_ like you!"

"Imagine that."

"Of course, at first we all thought it _was _you, I even hugged her, but she turned out to be some silly American on her was to Ohio. Anyway, that's pretty much it for my holiday, except for that whole thing on New Year's with Fred and George's idea for a new shoe line, but that's not important…so! What did you do?" Ginny finished brightly.

Hermione was a bit overwhelmed by all this information, especially considering Ginny had rattled this all off at top speed. For a minute, she blinked, trying to come up with a reasonable tale of her own Christmas break. She looked over at the fire, picturing that early morning when Narcissa had emerged from the flames only to run off and coo over Crookshanks, and then later, when she and Draco had snuck off to Diagon Alley. Then she glanced to the middle of the room, where they had sat around the table for Draco's birthday dinner, and where they had all exchanged Christmas gifts. Then the stairway, where she had been stopped many times over the past three weeks. Draco's room, where Hermione, Mrs. Granger and Narcissa had held their pseudo-sleepover. And her room, which had served as a sanctuary for Draco and Hermione since the arrival of their parents.

"Nothing much." said Hermione finally.

"You're so boring, Hermione," Ginny scoffed, giving her playful push. "Oh, well, I didn't expect you to have a hugely exciting time anyway."

"Neither did I, Gin. Neither did I."

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_Later, at a Reasonable Hour_

"Forget it, Hermione. I'm not getting up. Go on without me. I'll find some way to survive."

"Draco…" Hermione said warningly, tapping her foot impatiently. She was already dressed and ready to go down to breakfast, and he had yet to move from his spot on the bed. He even refused to come out from inside the pillow case. "Don't be ridiculous. I don't want to go to class either, but you're going to have to get up."

"It's not that," he moaned piteously, "I really don't feel well. I'm freezing, my head is killing me and my nose is so stuffed up I can hardly breathe. And since when has this pillow been so lumpy?"

"That's it." She said, striding over to the bed and pulling him out of the pillowcase. "The only way your not going to class, ferret, is if - " She stopped to stare once she could clearly see Draco's state.

His skin was pale, which, knowing Draco, really wasn't a problem, but it was pale in a sickly, yellow way. His eye were bloodshot and watery, and his entire body was limp in her hands, as though he had lost all of his strength in the middle of the night. Draco shivered violently. "Can you please cover me or something?" he snapped, "It's no better out here."

"What happened to you?" Hermione said quietly as she went to fetch his cloak. "How did you get sick?" She held out the small piece of fabric toward him.

He snatched it out of her hands, wrapping himself tightly. "Does that really matter? The fact is I'm sick, and I'm miserable. Now can we please go down to the Hospital Wing, or are you going to stand there watching me wither?"

She snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, of course." Normally, she would retort, possibly start a fight, but something had suddenly clicked in her mind...something very bad, something that she should probably tell Draco…

But her courage failed her, and instead, Hermione let Draco curl up in her hair while she hurried him down to see Madam Pomfrey.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, the doors were not yet open. "Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione called, "Are you there?" A clattering was heard, and a few moments later the nurse stood in the doorway, still in her nightgown.

"What happened? You awful children, getting hurt not even a day into the - " She looked down and saw Hermione. "Oh, it's you. What's the matter? Is it…" she did not say anything, but held her thumb and forefinger about three inches apart.

Hermione nodded. Madam Pomfrey threw open the door now, looking worried. "Goodness. Follow me, I'll take a look at him in the back room." She led them to secluded area that they had been in so many months ago, when Draco had first been shrunken. To Hermione it felt a bit eerie, and the guilt that was flooding wasn't a great help.

Madam Pomfrey closed the door to the room soundly after Hermione, and locked it with three different spells and a latch. Hermione set Draco down onto the table, and he immediately clutched his robe to himself. "It's freezing in here." He complained. "What's the matter with you lot?"

"Quiet, now," Madam Pomfrey ordered, taking the small boy into her hand. "Hmm…pale, weak, irritable," she pressed her fingertip to his forehead. "He's warm. Are you sore? Congested?" He nodded yes to both. "Oh my, this is serious. We must get the Headmaster down here immediately."

"You rang, Poppy?"

The nurse jumped when she saw Dumbledore looking in at them from the door. "Albus!" she cried. "How did you – But I just - "

He laughed. "Don't worry. I'll shut the door behind me. Now, what seems to be the problem?"

Madam Pomfrey threw off her temporary shock. "It's Mr. Malfoy here, Headmaster." She motioned to Draco, sitting in her palm, "He's feeling a bit under the weather."

"Let me see him."

She handed Draco over to Dumbledore, who spent a moment examining him at every angle. "Ah, yes." He put him back on the table. "It appears to me that Mr. Malfoy has a cold."

Hermione involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. "That's it? A cold? Well, you can fix that easily, can't you Madam Pomfrey?"

"I'm afraid not, dear," Madam Pomfrey said gravely, "I might as well tell both of you this now." She walked away from the table, facing away from the group. "Should the situation arise that a person becomes tiny, it is of absolute importance that this person maintains his health. When someone is shrunken, they become weaker in many ways. There's the obvious things – they no longer have the same physical capabilities, cannot perform magic. But their immune system also weakens. Therefore, if a person this size were to catch a cold, it's much more serious than if a normal person were to. The consequences could be…dire."

"What are you trying to say?" Hermione asked slowly, feeling as though the air was being squeezed from her lungs. "That Draco could…_die_?"

"To put it bluntly, yes."

"But I can't _die_," Draco said immediately, glaring at Madam Pomfrey as though this were all her fault. "I'm seventeen!"

"Mr. Malfoy in this sort of situation, age does not matter." She snapped, "I must ask that you remain calm. With the proper care and medicine, I'm sure you'll be cured in no time. I am merely pointing out a possibility."

Draco opened mouth to respond, but Dumbledore cut him off. "Enough. Mr. Malfoy, I assure you that Madam Pomfrey will be able to nurse you back to health. Please cooperate, as this is for your own good. As for you Ms. Granger," he glanced at Hermione, "You should be heading along to class."

"What?"

"I believe your Arithmancy lesson is starting in ten minutes." Dumbledore commented, glancing at his wrist although he had no watch.

Hermione gaped. "But what about - "

"Mr. Malfoy will be in my care until he has recovered." Madam Pomfrey told her, "You need not worry about him."

"Besides," Dumbledore's voice was oddly cheery as he ushered Hermione out of the room. "I'm sure this will serve as a well-deserved break for the both of you."

Hermione caught one last glimpse of Draco's face before the door slammed shut, and she could tell by his expression that he wasn't going to enjoy this either.

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"Hermione, that's the third time you've set the desk on fire. Are you feeling alright?"

"Hmm?" Hermione shook her head to clear her mind, but wasn't really watching Ron fuss over the charred desk. "What was that Harry?"

"You seem distracted." Harry frowned. "What's up?"

"I'm fine…"

"Did you sleep well last night?" In the background, Hermione was vaguely aware of Ron being told off by Professor McGonagal for burning the desk. She did not think to tell McGonagal that it had been her, but tried to focus on what Harry was asking her.

"Well, Ginny sort of came up to my dorm at four in the morning to talk. But it's okay, I had gone to bed early. Why?"

Harry shrugged nonchalantly, although his brow remained furrowed. "Nothing. You just seem worried about something."

"She should be." Ron muttered angrily, stomping over to the pair. "You just got me three consecutive detentions, Hermione. What's with you today?"

"I'm sorry, Ron. I haven't been able to do anything right today. I'm still in vacation-mode, I guess."

Ron sighed, and the bell rang to signal the end of class. "It's alright." He said as they packed up. "Maybe you'll feel better after some lunch. I know I will."

The three made their way to the Great Hall and sat down to lunch. Immediately, Hermione picked up a napkin and began stuffing it with food, as had become accustomed to doing at every meal and then remembered: she didn't need to get food for Draco, because he wasn't here. She dropped the napkin and stared gloomily down at her plate. She had lost her appetite.

"Are you going to eat that?" Ron asked her, indicating to the napkin. Hermione shook her head and handed it to him. "C'mon Hermione, have some lunch. It'll cheer you up."

"I don't need cheering up." She barked.

"Is that so?" Ginny rushed in, and took a seat next to Hermione. "Because you look really grumpy to me." She brightened. "How about we go down to the kitchens and see if there are any caramel apples? You _love_ those."

"Ginny, the House-Elves have enough work without you demanding extra sweets."

"Oh shut up." Ginny pulled Hermione out of her seat and dragged her across the Great Hall with a grin. "Besides, you're not allowed to talk about House-Elf rights anymore, remember?"

The two girls walked down towards the kitchens. "Ginny," Hermione asked suddenly, before she could stop herself. "Have you ever indirectly and unintentionally caused a potentially life-threatening situation?"

"Why no, Hermione. It's not like I was ever possessed by Voldemort's memory and set a horrible monster loose on unsuspecting students."

"Oh. Right." She placed a hand on the side of her neck, wishing there was someone sitting there. "But let's say you had…a pet. A very tiny, delicate pet. One day, you're walking along in the snow, with the pet riding on your shoulder and then you accidentally slip on a patch of ice. The pet falls in the snow and you can't find him for about five minutes, but when you do, he's cold and shivering. After you dry him off, everything's okay, but what if the next morning the pet has a cold? And, because he's so tiny, it might kill him? Would that be my – I mean, would it be your fault? For letting him get sick?"

Ginny stopped in her tracks. "You know, Hermione, every once in a while I have absolutely no idea what your talking about. This is one of those times." She laughed. "Why are you so worried? It's not like this happened, right?"

Hermione swallowed heavily. "Of course not."

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The moment classes ended, Hermione ran out of the door, headed to the Hospital Wing. She didn't even bother to stop and talk to Harry and Ron, who were about to ask her if she would like to come and have a chess tournament with them when she whizzed past.

"I wonder where she's running to." Harry mused, "Maybe we should check - "

"DON'T SAY IT." Ron ordered.

By the time Hermione reached the Hospital Wing she was out of breath. Madam Pomfrey saw her come through the doorway and rushed over. "Miss Granger? What is it? What has Potter done this time?"

"Oh, nothing Madam Pomfrey," Hermione wheezed, trying to catch her breath, "I actually came to see Draco."

"I'm afraid that is out of the question." Madam Pomfrey sniffed, "I alone can come in contact with him. You might bring in harmful germs, and heaven knows we don't need Mr. Malfoy to become any sicker."

"But isn't there some way?" Hermione pleaded.

"Well, there's one thing…it's a spell I can perform, it will cleanse you of anything that may be of any danger to him. But I must warn you, it's very painful. Most people find it is more trouble than it's worth."

"I don't care." She said at once. How bad could the spell be, after all? "I'll do it."

Madam Pomfrey nodded, "If you really want to do it." She paused and cocked her head, as though seeing Hermione in a completely new light. "The two of you are very devoted to each other. All Mr. Malfoy wanted all day was to talk to you. He had a fit when I told him you wouldn't be allowed in to see him. I suppose he's in for a pleasant surprise. Now," The nurse became very business-like, "Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms straight out, and don't move until I tell you to."

Hermione did as she was told, and braced herself, all the while reminding herself that she would be able to see Draco in a few minutes.

"_Purgo_!"

She opened her mouth to scream, but couldn't manage it. Needles of pain were stabbing in every pore of her body, digging deeper and deeper, tearing her apart…Hermione slumped onto the floor, shaking. Madam Pomfrey helped her to her feet. "You did very well," she said approvingly, "Now let's get you to Mr. Malfoy's room."

They went to the secluded room in the back of the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey opened the door and said quietly, "Mr. Malfoy? Look who's here to see you."

A blonde head popped out of the miniature hospital bed on the table. "Go away you lousy – Hermione! I knew you couldn't live without me." He smirked, but he could not hide his genuine happiness at seeing her there.

"I'll leave the two of you here. Fifteen minutes. No more." Madam Pomfrey gave the two a stern look and strode out of the room, locking the door behind her.

"Aren't you going to tell me how awful the day was without me?" Draco prompted, motioning for her to come closer. Hermione went to go sit at the table, trying not to notice that Draco looked much worse than he had that morning. He didn't even get out of bed to greet her. "Because I would think that life without a witty little voice in your ear would be rather dull."

Hermione laughed. "If you'd like to think of yourself that way. But, yes, I suppose my day was…different, to say the least. How were you here? Lost without my intelligence to guide you?" she threw in, raising her eyebrows in perfect imitation of him.

"Hate to disappoint, but your self-proclaimed 'intelligence' was never of any use to me anyway."

The next fourteen minutes went by in a blur. Although they continued to joke about how nice their day had been without the other to bother them, just that fact that Hermione had gone through the trouble of showing up, and the fact that Draco had been so happy to see her spoke more powerfully than words; they had missed each other terribly. Both harbored a secret joy at knowing this, and tried not to show it. However, when Madam Pomfrey came in to tell them time was up, neither Draco nor Hermione could hide their feelings.

"A few more minutes, Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, not even realizing she was pouting.

"Maybe I don't want her to leave." Draco told the nurse with venom.

"I'm sorry, but she can't stay. We mustn't have you all worked up." She took Hermione by the arm and steered her towards the door.

"Can she come back later then?"

"No, not tonight. You need rest." And before Draco and Hermione had a chance to say goodbye, she closed the door. "I'm sorry, Miss Granger." Madam Pomfrey said, not very apologetically.

Hermione shook her off. "When can I come back? Tomorrow, before classes, is that alright?"

Madam Pomfrey looked skeptical, but then said, "I suppose. But don't you try and sneak in here tonight. I'll be sure to send someone for you, should anything happen before then." She added, in a much gentler tone. "Okay?"

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And the next morning, Hermione was woken up at 4:30 A.M. for the second day in a row. This time it was not Ginny Weasley at her door, but Professor McGonagal, with a very grave look on her face.

"Miss Granger?" she said, "I'm sorry to wake you so early, but you presence has been requested down in the Hospital Wing. Mr. Malfoy isn't doing well."

Hermione knew she was awake, but she couldn't help feeling that a nightmare had just begun.


	26. Promises

**A/N:** Before I start blathering about junk nobody cares about, I shall first thank my fabulously-faithful reveiwers, who are: **Steelo, Twitchy the Squirrel, Zarroc, Kissmyfoot, me, kaydotsidot, B, hanvu, puppylove36923, kikikiwi, Mione 2222, grace, meLL, rizahawkeye21, SaphireGoddess57, Heaven's Dragon, and darkangel2560**! Thank you all for your desperate pleas for the next chapter!

This chappie really did take me a month to write. I must've rewritten each word about 50 million times because I wanted it to be absolutely perfect. Hope I succeeded, at least a little (although I don't know how a 'little bit' of perfection will do anybody good). I also hope I ease your suspense from Chapter 25. But enough chit-chat; for I now present to you...

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 26: Promises**

Considering the situation, Hermione expected it to be a stormy night, full of thunder and lightning and rain coming down in sheets. She found it almost insulting that it was a clear, if a bit chilly, January night.

However, you could imagine that this wasn't her point of main focus, as she was impatiently waiting outside the secluded room in the Hospital Wing. McGonagal had left her there nearly ten minutes ago and she was about ready to bust open the door –

"Miss Granger? You may come in now." Madam Pomfrey said quietly, opening the door. Dumbledore, McGonagal and Snape stood behind her. "We'll be out here for a bit, you just go in there and see Mr. Malfoy." The nurse had tried to sound normal, but there was no snap to her tone. Hermione nodded shortly, and went inside. The teachers exited.

The room was dimly lit. Hermione rushed to the table where Draco's bed was. The covers were pulled up over his head. "Draco…" she said softly, "Are you awake?"

"Of course I'm awake." Draco's distorted voice croaked from beneath the blankets, "I'm very awake. You'd think so, with my own school nurse already planning my funeral."

"Don't say that."

He grumbled, "She is. They all are. They keep saying I'm dying."

"Don't say that!" Hermione repeated, more shrilly this time. "You're not dying. You're fine, you're perfectly fine, you just have a cold!"

"Then why are you here at four in the morning? Obviously they've told you." Draco argued.

Hermione plunked down in the chair but turned away from the table. "They haven't told me anything. I came down here and asked to see you."

"You're a terrible liar Hermione."

She looked away.

"Hermione." Now he pulled the covers off of his face. "Don't make me get out of bed."

Hermione turned back toward him, but did not meet his eyes. There was no way of tricking him after all. She did not want him to see the shock that she felt upon seeing his state. His skin was ashy and he was shaking terribly, but was not allowed another blanket, because his fever was already high enough. It was hard to believe that not even 24 hours ago he had been sleeping peacefully in her bed.

"Look, you Gryffindor, there's no need to worry a-a-" Draco was sent into a coughing fit before he was able to finish his sentence. "There's nothing to worry about. I know Pomfrey said that I'm 'not doing well' but I'm fine. We Malfoy's are tough." He grinned weakly, "I'm sure you've learned that over these past couple weeks."

Hermione started to grin as well and was about to answer when she heard it:

"We need to contact his mother."

Forgetting about Draco's comment completely, she got up and walked to the door, pressing her ear against the metal.

"I don't think that's necessary, Poppy." Dumbledore's voice answered.

"Albus," McGonagal was speaking now. "Of course it's necessary. The boy is _dying_. Even if we let the secret out and transferred him to St. Mungo's now, it might be too late."

Hermione gasped.

"I agree with Minerva." Snape's oily voice said, "I'm sure Narcissa would want to be here, if these is indeed her son's last hours."

She could imagine Dumbledore smiling as he said, "Oh, but they aren't. I'm sure Draco's last hours won't be for many years to come."

"Headmaster – don't you understand? He has a fever of 103.5 (**A/N: That's in Fahrenheit, people**) and he's having breathing trouble. Why it's a wonder he's lasted this long! The only possible way he could survive is if we have him brought to St. Mungo's immediately, and the least we could do it get his mother in to see him before…"

"We'll do no such thing. I, for one, have much hope for Mr. Malfoy. Don't any of you believe in miracles, or at least proper timing?"

"This better not be one of your tricks, Albus. A student's life is at stake and you stand there and tell us that all we need is a miracle?" McGongal exclaimed.

"Or proper timing. You forgot proper timing." Dumbledore hummed in response.

"Look," Madam Pomfrey sounded on the verge of tears, "The bottom line is I've had two students die during my time at this school…and I really don't think I – or any of us - could handle to lose another."

Hermione staggered away from the door, sorry that she had ever thought to listen.

Draco sighed. "What did they say?"

She whirled and saw him. He sat there, innocent, not even knowing what sort of condition he was in, not knowing that he should take the teachers seriously, and not knowing that in a few hours he may never be again. It was a glance, a split second, but in that short moment she felt her world tilt at the thought that she might lose him.

"I have to go." Hermione pulled open the door and ran as fast she should. The teachers all stared at her quizzically as she hurried past.

"Where are you going?" Draco called after her, trying and failing to climb out of bed. "Hermione? Hermione!"

She didn't, couldn't, look back.

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A bright flash brought Hermione back to her senses. Well, if 'back to her senses' means screaming and hitting her head multiple times on her way to the floor, because that's what happened.

"Hi, Hermione!" an extremely chipper voice said from above the table. "I just wanted to capture the essence of sleep, and I thought you're pose right there was perfect. Sorry if I scared you!"

Hermione climbed back into her seat. "Oh, that's alright Colin - " she stopped short. Across from her sat two people. One of them was Colin Creevey, his camera clutched in hand. The other was Luna Lovegood, and her hand held his free one. They were both beaming.

"See Colin, I told you she would be happy to see us." Luna cooed dreamily. "What were you doing here so early, Hermione?"

In truth, Hermione had no idea. After running away from the Hospital Wing, she went back to her dorms, but she wasn't able to sleep. Thus, she got dressed, grabbed her bag, and headed down to the Great Hall, where she sank into a torpor atop the Gryffindor House table. That had been over three hours ago. Now it was 8:30 in the morning, and people were beginning to arrive for breakfast.

"I needed a bit of rest." Hermione said, "I had trouble sleeping last night." She wanted to ask about the hand-holding thing, but thought it might be better to leave it be. "So, er, are the two of you dating?"

Or not.

Colin bounced in his seat. "We sure are! How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

"You're so smart." Colin told her appreciatively. "Most people on the way here kept asking me if I lost a bet. I didn't know what they were talking about. So, how are you and Malfoy then?" The pang of sorrow that had been throbbing in Hermione's heart since Draco had gotten sick began to ache. "Anything? Luna told me all about it."

"Luna, don't listen to Ginny, I don't like Malfoy." Hermione admonished without a blink. "You can't believe everything she tells you."

Luna cocked her head. "But there must be something going on between the two of you. Why else would he give you that necklace?"

Her hands scrambled to her throat where the beautiful necklace Draco had given her for Christmas hung. She knew it was expensive, but loved it too much not to wear it. "What? He didn't give this to me!" she squeaked.

"Well, of course he did." Luna pried Hermione's hand off the necklace. "See? There's a gold and red lion charm, which is supposed to represent you," she lifted the chain, "And the chain is made of little green and silver snakes, which is supposed to be Slytherin, him. Who else could've given it to you?"

Behind Luna's head, the Gryffindor girl saw Harry and Ron walk into the room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hermione threw Luna off her necklace and stuffed it down the front of her robes. Harry and Ron were coming closer. There was no way Luna would think to stop the conversation, and she'd be found out. "Hey, I've got an idea Colin. Why don't you go to the Ravenclaw table? You should familiarize yourself with your new girlfriend's House, shouldn't you?"

"Yes, I suppose I should…"

"Great! On your way then!" Hermione stood up and pushed them away from the table at the exact moment Harry and Ron arrived. Luna and Colin merely shrugged at each other and skipped toward the Ravenclaw table.

Once they were out of earshot, Ron sat down and snickered, "Are the two of them going out, or did he lose a bet?"

"The first one." Harry answered dryly, pulling out a chair and taking his seat. "He was telling me about it last night. Apparently he's liked her since 4th year and when she asked him yesterday he nearly wet himself."

"Wait, _she_ asked _him_?" Ron looked disgusted. "What's wrong with that girl?"

"Nothing's wrong with her, Ronald." Ginny growled, sliding into a seat next to Harry. "It's perfectly fine for a girl to ask out a boy she likes. This is the 20th century."

"That's doesn't make it any less weird." Ron argued, piling a mountain of eggs onto his plate. "I mean, have you ever seen a girl ask me out?"

"No, but that's for a completely different reason."

"Would you stop!" Hermione slammed her fist on the table. "Why the two of you have to fight over something so stupid?" She motioned angrily at Ron. "What if this was the last time you saw Ginny healthy? What if after breakfast you get called down to the Hospital Wing and find out she's dying! I bet you'd regret fighting then, wouldn't you?"

Harry, Ron and Ginny simply stared at her for a moment. "Hermione," Ginny said after a minute, "What are you on about? I'm perfectly fine…or is this not about us? What's the matter?"

Hermione threw her hands in the air, "There's a lot that's matter! So much I don't even know where to begin!" She seemed furious, but in reality she was about to burst into tears. Snatching up her bag, Hermione stormed out of the Great Hall. She would just go sit in the Arithmancy room until class started.

"Hermione, wait up!" a voice called. Hermione stopped, and Harry and Ginny jogged over. "Ron's coming too." Harry assured her. "He just wanted to finish eating first."

"It's alright." Hermione muttered, now feeling embarrassed over her outburst. She probably looked ridiculous to them, having fits out of no where. It wasn't their fault anyway. They didn't know what was going on with Draco, and how scared she was.

A strange look came over Ginny. "Harry, you go back and eat. Hermione and I need to discuss something." She said, waving him off toward the Great Hall.

"But - "

"Just go!" Ginny demanded. With a look of defeat, Harry waved goodbye to the two girls and retreated back inside the Great Hall. When he disappeared, Ginny directed her gaze back toward Hermione, her bright brown eyes gleaming. "Let's walk a bit."

Hermione didn't protest. The two girls made their way down the hall in silence. "Hermione, I know that you're worried about someone," Ginny said quietly, "But I also know that you're probably not going to tell me who."

She bit her lip nervously, but nodded slowly.

"I thought so," Ginny sighed, "And I'm assuming it has to do with whoever gave you that necklace. No, don't bother lying," she added, seeing that Hermione had grabbed at her necklace and was about to offer an explanation, "I noticed it yesterday. It's okay, you don't have to tell me that either. I'm sure you have a good reason."

"Oh, I do." Hermione said eagerly, mostly for her own benefit. The weight of all her lies was finally beginning to add up. She wished for Draco. He would probably laugh, tell her that the lying was for a good reason, say that she should live a little. He would make her believe everything was all right. "I promise, if I could tell you I would, but I can't."

"Even though I'm dying of curiosity, I suppose I have to respect that." Ginny responded, then patted Hermione on the arm. "Look, whatever it is, don't be too hard on yourself. I'm sure everything will work out."

Hermione attempted a smile. "I hope so."

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By some miracle, Hermione made it through the day. Harry and Ron were still tiptoeing around and being extra nice to her by trying to talk about homework, offering to carry her books, but she could hardly enjoy the special treatment. She was fully aware of the teachers giving her sympathetic glances (did they know what was happening with Draco? Was it obvious how worried she was?). McGonagal even seemed apologetic, assigning the class some reading for that night, which she knew was just as good as giving no homework at all.

"Are you sure, Professor?" a few of the students asked, suspecting she was trying to catch them off guard. "That's all you want us to do? No questions? No transfiguration practice?"

McGonagal's mouth became stiff line, mingled with sadness. "I think the reading is a perfect assignment. I'm sure you'll be able to make a lot out of the extra free time." Hermione pretended to be very interested in the table leg, knowing she would lose it if she saw the look McGonagal was giving her. The bell rang. "You're free to go." McGonagal called, than added, "Miss Granger, if you wouldn't mind? I'd like a word."

Hermione told Harry and Ron to go ahead, and once the classroom had emptied, she went up to McGonagal's desk. The two stood in silence for a moment. Finally, the older woman started in a quiet voice. "I'm very sorry about all this Miss Granger. I know that you and Mr. Malfoy have never exactly gotten along, but I'm sure that after spending these past few months with him the two of you have grown somewhat attached."

'_Oh, you have no idea.'_

"At this point in time, you must feel helpless. I want to you know that should anything, well, _happen_, that you don't blame yourself. Madam Pomfrey has done everything she can for him, and really there's nothing else to do but hope. The Headmaster refuses to have him transferred to St. Mungo's, or even to call his mother, But I'm sure that if the Headmaster has faith, there's something that can still be done." McGonagal sniffled, and wiped her eyes quickly. "Mr. Malfoy will just have to pull through."

And just like that it came to her.

"Or I could help him." Hermione voiced aloud, not realizing what she was saying.

McGonagal stared. "What was that?"

"Oh!" Hermione jumped, almost excited, the force of her idea exhilarating her. She felt like someone had started a powerful fire within her, and that action was inevitable. "Nothing. I think I'll go see Draco now." She began to head towards the door.

"Hermione, wait!" McGonagal yelped suddenly.

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. Teachers did not refer to students by their first name unless there was something terribly, terribly, wrong.

"I'm meant to tell you something else." her Professor uttered in a near whisper. "Soon after you left this morning, Mr. Malfoy's fever increased to 105 and he fell into a very fitful sleep. When ever he wakes, he's delirious…Madam Pomfrey, Professor Snape and I wanted to bring you back to the Hospital Wing, but Dumbledore insisted we wait to see if Draco's condition improved."

She did not need to tell Hermione that it hadn't.

"But…I don't understand…." Hermione wrung her hands. "It's just a cold. Even if it's more serious for someone his size, why would it make him delirious?"

"We don't know. Madam Pomfrey says it's probably the fever, but honestly we just don't know."

Hermione allowed herself a moment to breathe before asking. "Will I be able to see him?"

McGonagal nodded.

Hermione made her way to the Hospital Wing in a trance. She had not expected this. The situation had never been a good one, but this was a new bad. He was delirious. How could she even try to help him if he didn't know who she was? How could any of this work itself out?

When Hermione arrived in the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey bustled over to her. "Did Minerva send you?" she questioned. The nurse had been lingering outside the secluded room, as if wondering whether she really wanted to go in or not.

"I won't bother with the spell," Madam Pomfrey informed her, "After all, he can't get any worse. Sit with him as long as you like. You might do him some good." She opened the door and pushed the girl inside, but hesitated before closing it again. "If anything happens, or should he wake up…"

"I'll be sure to call you." Hermione assured the nurse. Satisfied, Madam Pomfrey closed the door.

Hermione looked into the little hospital bed. Draco was shivering under his thin blanket, and although his limbs and facial features jerked weirdly and he seemed to be murmuring something, he was undoubtedly asleep. She carefully lowered herself into the seat next to the table and watched. She wanted so badly for him to be well again, but she had learned long ago that wanting did nothing. If she planned to help him, she would have to take matters into her own hands.

Of course, this meant she would have to wait a while, at least until he woke up.

In two hours flat, Hermione completed all her homework, including the Transfiguration reading and the extra credit for Charms. It might've taken her even shorter, but she couldn't help but glance up every few minutes, just to make sure Draco was alright. He was, but at the end of the two hours he had yet to awaken.

It was then that she slept. This wasn't intentional in the least; in fact, Hermione had been fighting off the temptation to rest all day. But one minute she was sitting patiently in her seat, and the next she was snoozing on the tabletop next to Draco's bed. It was not until Draco woke up and started shouting that her deep sleep was interrupted.

"There's no one here…I'm alone…Sinking! Sinking, sinking, sinking, save me!" He was yelling horribly, as though in pain. Hermione rubbed sleep from her eyes and jolted awake. Draco was sitting up in bed, struggling against an invisible force. "NO! I won't let you drown me!"

"Draco!" Hermione reached out her hand, but couldn't bring herself to touch him. "It's me, Hermione. Draco, please, you're not feeling well, you don't know what's happening - "

"GET AWAY."

"Draco, stop!" she shrieked, "It's your fever. It's making you delirious, but you have to - "

"I don't know you! I don't know – What is this feeling? It's loathing, it's lost, it's backwards, it's sinking, it's…" He pulled the blanket tightly around himself, "I'm small." He stated simply, shutting his eyes. "And that's all there is to it."

Draco fell back against the pillows, asleep once more. Hermione felt as though her heart had stopped. If her world had been tilting before, it was now completely upside-down.

She had to act, and fast.

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Hermione slipped out of the room into the main part of the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey was near the door, examining some potion flasks by the moonlight.

_Moonlight?_ How long had she been asleep?

The nurse noticed her standing there. "I'd have to say, four hours is by far the longest visit there's ever been. Or that I've ever allowed anyway." The corners of her mouth upturned weakly. "How is he? I came in to check his temperature about an hour ago, and it was still very high. Has he woken up since?"

"No," Hermione lie came easily, and she even remembered to blink. She simply had to keep telling herself that it was all for Draco's own good, which was the same reasoning she used when she had snatched Draco from his bed and stuck him in her pocket, and, when he begun to struggle, placed a full body-bind on him. And she was going to have to keep repeating it if she wanted to pull this off. "I wished to have talked to him, but I suppose it's better that he gets his rest." She sighed deeply, "I should get going. If he wakes up…" she pretended to search for her words for a moment, "Tell him that I – I miss him."

Madam Pomfrey smiled warmly. "I will, dear. Now you go along. You can come to see him in the morning."

Hermione nodded and did her best not to rush as she walked away. She didn't want to look suspicious, but then again, it wouldn't do any good to be caught before she got started. Making sure the nurse was not looking, Hermione ran out of the Hospital Wing and the rest of the way to her dorms.

Once she was back in her room, she went to go sit on the bed. Carefully, she took Draco from her pocket and took the spell off him, but he had fallen asleep again. She set his limp frame onto a pillow, pulling his blanket tighter around him, but somehow it didn't seem right for her to just sit there watching him.

Changing into her nightgown, Hermione climbed into the bed, wrapping herself in her own blanket. She lay on her back and lifted Draco onto her wild mess of hair. He made a pleased humming noise in his sleep and snuggled into it. Motivated by this, she began to speak.

"Draco," she started softly, "Remember the very beginning of the year, when I burst into the Head Car and nearly killed you with that door? You chased me all around the compartment and when you finally caught me, you just giggled like an idiot and suddenly…suddenly we were both laughing?"

He burrowed further into her curls.

"Then we went to have that meeting with Dumbledore and McGonagal, and they told us we had to share the dorms, and sign that ridiculous Head Code. You're such a little ferret." She added with playful scorn, "If you hadn't convinced me to sign it without reading it, we probably wouldn't be in this mess."

"The next morning you decided that you weren't leaving your room until your gel arrived, and I had to brush your hair for you. You actually thanked me for that, if I remember correctly. We got stuck working together in Potions that afternoon, which wasn't too bad, although I did slap you later, but that was just because you were being annoying.

"You woke me up at about 6 o'clock the next day, telling me I had to brush your hair _again_, and I thought everything was alright until you decided that I had ruined your Slytherin reputation so I gave you a bloody nose, but you also hit that desk, and got a huge cut on the back your neck. Remember? I fixed it up though, and you refused to apologize."

Hermione looked sideways to see if this was having any effect on Draco. He coughed once, and turned over but did not wake. She went on,

"You got a bit hysterical when you found out you had to give me a birthday present. I can't say I acted much better, but at least I kept my head on. You were such a prat on my actual birthday, making me drop all my gifts from the party. You did make up for it with what you gave me, but I suppose you realized that I liked it when I kissed you.

"That was the last time I saw you normal-sized. The next morning, I got called down to the Hospital Wing and found out you'd become three-inches-tall and, because of that stupid Head Code that you made me sign, I was in charge of you from then on. I don't have to remind you off all the trouble you've put me through since then."

She flipped over on her stomach so she could look at him. "Making me walk strangely just so you could be comfortable, making me lie to my friends, shrinking all of your useless junk, getting me in trouble with Snape, having to take you to the sleepover," Hermione pointed to the floor near the balcony, "We crashed right over there. I thought I had died, until I woke up to you smacking my nose. I never really repaid you for that, did I?" She was becoming more frantic as she went on. "Then that trouble with Pansy, trying to convince her I hadn't kidnapped you. Our parents. Christmas. And even now…you've been like a little devil that's been hanging over my shoulder for the past three and half months. I've had to take you everywhere. Do you even know what that's like, dealing with you 25 hours a day, eight days a week?"

Hermione found herself holding back against yet another vicious wave of tears. She had promised herself long ago that she would never cry over him, and she intended to keep that promise.

"Draco, you don't get it. You can't d-die." Her lip trembled. She turned her head away, although she knew he couldn't see her. "If you do, I'll – well, I'm going to – look, if you do, you'll never be able to bother me again! Think of all the awful things you've managed to do just this year! Are you going to let a little cold stop you now?"

A weak voice rasped in her ear. "Not on your life."

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Hermione's breath caught. She whipped her entire body around to be sure that she wasn't imagining things. Draco smirked at this and when he saw the look on her face, he let out a sickening cough of a laugh, "I don't know how long you've been talking, but I've only been listening from 'Draco, you don't get it'. Sorry if I missed a great long speech or something."

"You're okay." She marveled, "But you were delirious!"

"Was I?" he asked incredulously. "The last thing I remember, I was asleep in the Hospital Wing after you decided to make a run for it. And now we're -" He tried to sit up, but settled for looking wildly about the room, "Hermione, you've kidnapped me."

She felt a blush of embarrassment creep up her neck. "I didn't. I just…borrowed you for a bit. I thought you - " Hermione stopped. She couldn't tell him that she thought he needed her. "I thought maybe coming back here would help. It didn't seem like you fancied the Hospital Wing all that much."

He didn't answer. Draco had moved so that his back was to her, and when he spoke again his voice was an icy whisper, "I didn't think I'd ever wake up."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Something happened to me while I was asleep." He tugged at his blanket, shielding himself, "I knew I was dreaming but somehow…it felt so strange…like it was becoming more and more real. And all of these people kept talking to me, telling me how much they looked forward to 'meeting' me…the whole time I just wanted to wake up, but I knew I couldn't."

"But you could, you did…" Hermione wanted to reach out to him, but at the same time knew she would have to let him come to her. This conversation, different from the one she had imagined for their reunion, was turning out to be horrifyingly mawkish.

He continued. "That was when everyone else disappeared. That was when you showed up. For a while you just sat with me, but then you started talking and shaking me until I was awake," He sighed, and his next breath was not dry. "Now I'm here. But I don't even want to blink. I think that if I do, I might - " Draco winced, as though in pain, but she heard his stifled sob of fear.

"You're afraid that if you do, you'll go back to that place." She finished. Her breathing was not dry either.

"Exactly. And this time I know that not even _you_ will be able to bring me back." Then he was facing her, his eyes brimming with tears, looking so distressed she had to bite her tongue to stop from crying out. "Hermione, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"

She didn't care that she was supposed to let him come to her. She didn't care about anything but stopping his tears from spilling. She wouldn't allow him to feel this sort of pain, not if she could help it. Hermione pulled Draco to her chest in a swift, gentle motion, and held him fast, held him with a fierce protectiveness she didn't know she possessed.

"Don't worry," she said, and her words were as true as any oath, "I won't let you."


	27. One Last Dream

**A/N: **Where have I been? What have I been doing? And why on EARTH do I think I can just waltz back up and pretend you guys will still love me? Well, I could answer all that and more, but then I wouldn't have time to give you this shiny new chapter. I realize that you're all probably in post-DH shock (but it was wubbulously fantastic, was it not?), but I know at least a few of you were still hoping I'd update. I thank you all for your patience and want you to know that I will be finishing this story by the end of the month - it's been a joy, but as it boils down to the end I can't say I'm not glad to see that I finally made it. For now, however, I give to you -

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 27: One Last Dream**

"This is going much too slowly."

The tall man paced across the room, long robes swishing in his wake.

"There have been close calls, very close – but not close enough. They both refuse to speak of what's truly happened, even to themselves. _Especially_ to themselves."

He glanced at the cauldron. Within the frothy liquid he could see a bushy-haired girl sorting through a pile of books in the back of a library. She was whispering something to her shoulder, where a doll-sized blonde boy sat, and he laughed as she tried to balance one of the books on her head. The man could not help smiling at the image, but his grin faded quickly.

"I cannot leave them this way. It's time to take matters into my own hands."

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_Nighttime – Friday, February 12, 1998_

"_Crucio!_" Draco exclaimed.

Hermione dodged the spell, but Draco's unsympathetic hand followed her.

"_Imperio!_"

She attempted to duck behind the sofa, but her robe snagged on the coffee table. Her wand flew out of her hand and she was yanked back into view, completely unarmed. She was trapped.

Draco cackled maliciously. Now he had her! "_Avada Kedavra!_"

Hermione's lifeless body fell to the floor with a thump. Her eyes were still open, the large brown orbs reflecting defeat even in her death.

Draco slide down from his perch on a stack of textbooks, ambling over to where she lay. He stopped when he reached her ear and began to applaud. "Nice, very nice. That was the best one yet, if you ask me." He smirked. "But do you really think you can make up for you inadequacy by putting on a good show when you lose?"

Hermione immediately sat up, making a face at him. "I was doing nothing of the sort." she argued. "That one shouldn't have counted though, the coffee table was in the way."

"I didn't tell you to practice in here. From what I recall, it was all your idea. You said it would be more 'challenging'."

"It's lucky you don't have a very good memory then, isn't it?" she said, playfully nudging him with her foot.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, quite lucky."

It was well over a month since Draco had contracted his cold. The morning after Hermione 'kidnapped' him, the two had woken up to the screeches of Madam Pomfrey storming the bedroom. She nearly squeezed Draco to death while threatening to have Hermione expelled, which had all been very frightening. Dumbledore showed up after a little while and sorted everything out just in time for them all to hear that Draco was going to make a full recovery. After that the teachers left and there had been a lot of rejoicing (candy-eating, mostly) on Draco and Hermione's part.

Since then, the two had done their best to return to their normal schedules, but found the task difficult in more ways than one. Christmas break and the period of Draco's illness had occurred in the same time frame; they had nearly forgotten what their normal schedule had been like.

Then there were the dreams.

Hermione placed Draco on her shoulder and stood. "Alright. So now that I've practiced the physical aspects of defense, we try the mental ones."

"But I haven't had a go yet!" Draco complained. "At least let me try a few. I need the practice, being carried around all day has gotten me out of shape."

More apparent than the dreams was the looming presence of N.E.W.T.'s. The tests were drawing closer and closer, and now all the seventh-years were in constant preparation. Hermione had, of course, been in constant preparation for tests since the day she was born, but she had also taken it upon herself to make sure that she and Draco had the best N.E.W.T. scores in the history of the wizarding world. At least, that seemed to be her goal considering how hard she worked the both of them each day. The fact that neither of them were sure whether Draco would even be able to take the practical exams made no difference to her. Besides…they enjoyed it. It gave them another excuse to be friendly without wondering why they bothered.

That's where the dreams come in.

"How could you possibly be out of shape?" Hermione laughed, "You're always whizzing around on that stupid broom, making up Quidditch moves. I'm almost sorry I got it for you."

"You can be so thick, Hermione. Don't you know that Quidditch is probably the least active sport known to wizard kind? There's no way that it could help me develop muscle or anything, especially as Seeker." Draco reached out and yanked a hair from Hermione's scalp so quickly she almost didn't feel it. "All I've got are these ridiculously nimble hands."

She scoffed. "That's fantastic. Now we're going to go sit down and you can use your ridiculously nimble hands to turn the pages of the books while we go over spells."

No, no, I promised them the dreams.

Hermione yawned. Merlin, she was tired. "On second thought, it's pretty late. Maybe we should go to sleep."

"Yeah." Draco's eyelids began to droop, "We can study more tomorrow."

The two quickly got ready for bed. Draco busied himself selecting some choice curls from Hermione's hair to snuggle up in while she flipped vigorously through a textbook, as though she had not already memorized even the copyright date.

"So," Draco said, trying to keep his tone casual, although by way he was fidgeting Hermione could tell he had been meaning to ask this for a long time. "What do you think will happen if I can't take the practical exams? I mean, if I'm not a fully qualified wizard then I can't graduate and…" he trailed off. There was no need to detail the consequences of such a scenario.

"If you don't graduate, I don't graduate." Hermione said flatly.

"_What_?"

"I'm serious. If they don't let you graduate, I'll refuse to accept my diploma. They'll be bound to change their minds upon the precious valedictorian's terms."

He sprang to his feet, horrified. "Hermione, you're crazy. You can't ruin you're future over me, I'll just practice as much as I can and wait until I grow or something - "

"Draco." She fixed him with a hard, blazing look. "I'm not going to ruin my future _over _you. But I'd be happy to ruin it _for_ you."

Draco suddenly found himself unable to meet her gaze. "Oh. Well. Well, that's certainly very – it's really quite – it's nice of you to say. Thanks." His insides churned in a sort of nervous delight as he searched for something else to say. "I suppose I would be happy to ruin my life for you as well, now that I think about it."

"W-would you?" she spluttered, "Would you really?"

"I think so, yeah." Draco answered back awkwardly.

"That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

It was as if all the oxygen had been taken from and room and replaced with something much more romantic.

He paled with embarrassment and murmured, "I didn't mean to be sweet." After a pause, he added, "You meant what you said, though? That you would make sure I graduated, even if it meant putting yourself on the line?"

"Look, Malfoy, if you're going to be difficult about this - !"

Draco scowled good-naturedly, "Alright, alright. You're an imbecile, but I suppose I can't say much if you're going to be an imbecile in my favor. Good night, you bushy-haired freak."

"Good night, you doll-sized mule."

And now, I present to you, the dreams.

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_They always began the same way. Hermione would be walking through a dimly-lit passage-way with many doorways on either side. There would be a faint ice-blue light off in the distance that was emanating a deliciously cool breeze, and she knew that was where she must go. Still, the temptation of so many doorways was too much, and she often found that a little deviation could not be avoided._

_From this, the dreams varied. Every door revealed a different sort of room (libraries, bedrooms, kitchens, common rooms, etc.) and she seldom opened the same door twice. The only other common element was the people she found in each room. _

_There were two of them, a boy and a girl – at least, that's what they appeared to be, Hermione was unable to identify any of their blurred features – about her age, and they somehow managed to be behind every door. Sometimes they would be laughing uproariously at some joke she seemed to have just missed. Other times they would be fighting (though their words were muffled and strange-sounding to her ears) with a shocking amount of vigor. Several times she had walked in on them kissing, but she always closed those doors before she got a proper look. _

_Tonight, however, Hermione did not stop to open any doors. She knew that tonight she would finally reach the ice-blue light, she would find out what was there, why it called to her, plagued her thoughts even while she was awake. It was time. _

_The passageway seemed to stretch on for miles but she did not falter, and when the cool breeze became an icy blast of wind she knew she had reached her destination. Out of no where a set of double doors materialized and she opened them to find her bedroom balcony. Confusion did not have time to set in, for at that moment screams were heard from the sky and she looked up to see two people she_ did _recognize: herself, riding a defective broomstick that was literally falling out of the sky, and Draco, who was clinging to her pocket for dear life. Hermione watched, stunned, as the two squeezed their eyes shut, whispering what they thought were their farewells – and just as they came in contact with the balcony and skidded inside with an almighty crash, everything went black and she was transported to different scene – _

_There she was again, in her own Head Common Room, kneeling on the ground with her arms wrapped around a boy as she began to sob with happiness. "Hermione," the boy said, and his voice sounded so wonderfully familiar, (but who was he? Who was he?) "I'm back."_

"Hermione? Miss Granger? Please, wake up!"

Hermione awoke to see a face with square spectacles looming over her in orange-and-pink streaked light of dawn. She rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Professor McGonagal? What are you doing here?"

"Professor Dumbledore believes he has found the cure for Mr. Malfoy."

She bolted upward in the bed. "What?! You mean – he thinks he can make Draco - "

"Yes, yes, he's going to try." McGonagal said hurriedly, "Where is Mr. Malfoy? The two of you must come quickly."

Hermione reached into her tangle of hair and pulled out Draco, who was, amazingly, still fast asleep. "Draco!" she said, prodding him while she pulled on her dressing gown, "You have to wake up, Dumbledore thinks he can make you big again! Get up you stupid ferret, before I hex you to dust."

"Miss Granger!"

"Sorry Professor, I'm trying to motivate him." Draco continued to snooze peacefully even as Hermione slipped him into her pocket. She couldn't help thinking that this may be the last time she would do so. "I'll wake him up when we get there."

McGonagal nodded and they set off.

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_Draco knew that he was dreaming. For one thing, he was normal sized. For another, he had been having the same sort of weird dreams for a while now. But tonight would be different, he could feel it. Tonight he wouldn't open any of the doors (he enjoyed seeing how long he could watch the two blurry figures snog before some invisible force pulled him from the room). Tonight he would finally find what lay beyond the warm, chocolate brown light at the end of the passageway. _

_The passageway seemed to stretch on for miles but he did not falter, and when the warmth became a blistering wave of heat, he knew he had reached his destination. Out of no where a set of double doors materialized and he opened them to find his bedroom balcony. Next to him was the September 19__th__ version of himself, standing at full height as he gazed at the stars, absentmindedly rubbing the spot where Hermione had kissed him perhaps an hour before. After a few more minutes, the past version of Draco turned on his heel to go back inside, muttering, "Be a doll…I don't know who she thinks she's talking to."_

_But of course, as the future-Draco knew would happen (he remembered so well!), once former-Draco stepped through the threshold, a violent purple bolt hit him in the back and he fell forward, seeming to shrink as he did, until only a pile of robes lay on the ground, a tiny pale form thrashing beneath them._

_Draco ran from the room, leaving his newly shrunken self behind, dashing down the stairs and out into the corridor. Dumbledore, where was Dumbledore?! He had been the one to find Draco after it all happened and – there! Draco leapt onto a moving staircase to yell at the Headmaster, who was passing by two floors below. _

"_PROFESSOR!" Draco bellowed. Dumbledore paid him no mind; he was only part of the dream after all. Frightened for his past self, Draco yelled, "HEY, OLD MAN! Up here!" Dumbledore stopped dead in his tracks. "Listen, Professor, you've got to go to the Head Common Room, it's Draco Malfoy, he's terribly injured!"_

_The Headmaster turned his face up toward Draco and from the way he smiled the boy was almost certain he could see him. Before he could look into the matter further, the scene changed and he was back in the common room, watching as yet _another_ version of himself kneeled on the floor, clutching a girl tightly as tears streamed down his face. She was crying as well, but laughing, speaking, and her voice was smooth, beautiful, but he could not place it…"You never left,"…_

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. I don't suppose you would mind waking up, would you?"

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Hermione gave an impatient huff as Draco awoke. "Just thought it'd be fun to keep us all waiting?" she said scathingly.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Now, Miss Granger. I'm sure Mr. Malfoy is quite exhausted. I imagine it must be tiring to constantly put up with a lioness." It took Hermione a few seconds to realize this had been a pointed comment, and she pouted in response. "Mr. Malfoy, I assume you know why you're here?"

"Why, of course, Professor," Draco could not help but be sarcastic, "I always know where I am upon waking up and finding that instead of in my bed I'm in the Headmaster's office with the Transfiguration professor and the Head Girl. What a silly question."

Dumbledore's eyes gave a mischievous sparkle. "Your bed? I was under the impression that you slept in Miss Granger's hair."

Draco blanched.

"Goodness, Albus," McGonagal said, "You certainly are doling them out tonight."

"I do believe I'm on a roll, Minerva," Dumbledore responded, "But there are more pressing matters at hand. Since Mr. Malfoy appears to be – what is the word I'm looking for? Ah, yes – _clueless_, we shall fill him in.

"It seems that I have found the cure for your current state, young Draco."

"What?" Draco brightened. "You really think so?"

The Headmaster nodded. "I do. However, I must warn you: there is no guarantee that it will work, nor am I sure how long it will take." He motioned to an ancient-looking book on his desk. "My sources also tell me that parts of it may be painful. Madam Pomfrey has approved though, so as long as you are willing to trust me, I am willing to try."

"Of course I'm for it!" Draco yelped, his excitement becoming more and more difficult to suppress, "Let's get started."

"Come, Miss Granger. We must leave the Headmaster to his work." McGonagal said, attempting to shuffle Hermione out of the room. She refused to budge, staring at Draco with an expression of fear mingled with regret.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Draco?" she asked, only loud enough for him to hear. "You don't have to risk it, you can just wait until he finds something else, something that's not painful…"

"Please Granger," she stiffened at the name. He had not called her that in months now. "I'll be fine. Besides, nothing is more painful than having to live like this day after day. Now get going, I want to be back to normal."

Hermione looked away, knowing she could not lose it now. "Of course you do. I'm sorry." She began to follow McGonagal out of the room.

"Hermione!" he called suddenly.

"Yes?"

"I'll - I'll see you later."

Her smile did not reach her eyes. "Yeah. Okay."

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Hermione had thought she had lived through many uncomfortable situations, but this one took the cake. Not only was she currently undergoing an unhealthy amount of inner turmoil, but she was doing so while sitting in on a quadruple day-before-Valentine's date with two obnoxious couples and two nonexistent ones. She was not quite sure how she had managed to get herself into this mess- in fact, she had no idea there would be a Hogsmeade visit today of all days - but if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that she did not it one bit.

Luna and Colin were sitting across from her in the booth of The Three Broomsticks having a blinking contest (how did you know when you lost?!). Next to them were Lavender and Dean, who were ducking under the table to snog so frequently it was almost as if they weren't there. On Hermione's left, Parvati was trying her best to convince Ron that yes he _had_ asked her out for today. Harry and a lovesick Ginny sat squashed together at the end of the row, exchanging stories about hexes they've used on vicious Slytherins.

It was all rather sickening, in her opinion.

Madam Rosmerta appeared at the head of the table. "Well, just look at all you young lovers," she said cheerfully, "A round of butterbeers for you lot?"

"Something stronger, perhaps," grumbled Hermione, who was slumped over the corner of the table, "Like mercury." Rosmerta looked alarmed.

"Ignore her," Parvati told the woman, "She's depressed because her sweetheart isn't here. We'll take the butterbeers."

As Madam Rosmerta hurried away, Ron turned towards Hermione. "Since _when _do you have a sweetheart?" he asked sternly.

"Yes, since when?" Harry inquired, abandoning his conversation with Ginny.

"I don't have one!" Hermione barked, giving the other four girls the evil eye, as though daring them to mention Draco. Luckily they all took the hint and went oddly deaf until the subject was changed, leaving Hermione to sulk in her corner.

Ironically enough, Draco was exactly what was bothering her. She was sure he would find it hilarious that he was managing to do so without even being there. _'That is, if he ever talks to me again.' _She thought sullenly. For she knew what the real problem was; she kept trying to convince herself that she was simply worried about his safety, all the while knowing that Dumbledore would never even accidentally hurt Draco, and that her anxiety was coming from a much more selfish though. Because – well, what if it worked? What if Draco did go back to normal? What would it mean?

That was a silly question. Obviously, Hermione knew what that would mean, for him anyway. He would be able to use magic, ride a real broomstick, go to classes on his own instead of riding on her shoulder. He would have his life back. She should have been happy for him, not to mention happy to be rid of him. But she wasn't, and that was due to the secret question that had been forming in her mind since McGonagal had told her about the cure, a question that she had come so close to asking as she left Dumbledore's office that morning:

'_What would it mean for_ us_, Draco? What about _us_?'_

Of course, there was no "us". "Us" was for other people, like the idiot couples sitting around her, or her mum and dad. Hermione and Draco were not an "us". They were simply…Hermione and Draco. The thing was, Hermione was not so sure she liked that. She was beginning to think that maybe…just maybe…no, no, it wasn't possible! She and Draco weren't anything like that, and they never would be. They were hardly friends, for goodness sakes!

'_It's like McGonagal said back when Draco got sick.'_ Hermione thought, _'We're not fond of each other at all really, we've just grown attached. It's nothing more than that.'_

And yet she could not rid her mind of the conversation they had had last night. They had both claimed to be willing to ruin their lives for each other. Truthfully, Hermione had been almost _excited _at the prospect of making such a sacrifice if it meant that Draco would continue to be present in her life. Should he go back to normal, would this even be possible? What would keep him tethered to her if he no longer depended on her? He didn't need her, not the way –

"OI! What are you doing with my sister?" Ron shouted, pushing Parvati onto Hermione as he attempted to detach a very flustered looking Harry and Ginny. Apparently, Ginny had mentioned that she knew a fantastic recipe for treacle tart, which made Harry begin to kiss her in a fit of desire that Ginny found quite to her liking. Ron did not seem to approve, as was evident by the swollen lip and broken nose Harry was now sporting.

Ginny was furious. She pounced on her brother with a shriek, sending them both rolling to the floor of the pub. "Ronald, you flaming beanpole, I've been waiting for that my whole life!!"

"Hab you real-ny?" said Harry, who was clutching his nose with the front of his robes. Ginny spun Ron into a headlock and used her free hand to blow a kiss at her new beau. Parvati, who had been momentarily stunned, pushed aside the forming crowd of onlookers to reach the bickering duo.

"Ginny, get off of him this instant! He can't ask me to be his Valentine if you kill him." She shrilled indignantly.

Ron kicked Ginny in the shins, and she retaliated by twisting his arm behind his back. He yelled at Parvati, "Then help me, would you?!"

Parvati simply tossed her hair. "Well, I can't do that."

"WHY NOT?"

"You haven't asked me to be your Valentine yet!"

Ron howled in pain as Ginny delivered several sound punches to his stomach. "FINE. BE MY DAMN VALENTINE!"

"Ooh, Ronnie, that's so romantic of you!" Parvati gushed, giggling happily as she drew her wand. "_Impedimenta!"_

Ginny was thrown back against the bar by the spell. Harry immediately ran forward to help her, his nose still gushing blood even as they kissed. Parvati kept trying to embrace Ron but he yelped every time she touched him, though it seemed that he was more embarrassed than physically hurt.

Hermione sneaked over to the door and out into the cold, certain that no one would come after her in all the excitement. Frankly, she had found the whole scene to be a bit much, but who was she to judge? At least her friends, her utterly insane friends, knew what they wanted, which was more than she could say for herself. Still, there was one thing she knew, something she would have to admit whether she liked it or not. She inexplicably thought of the look of love in Harry's eyes as he ducked down to kiss Ginny, and sighed.

Draco didn't need her. Not the way she needed him.

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_A while later_

Hermione made her way back to the Head common room for the ninth time since she had returned from Hogsmeade. She had once again tried to get into Dumbledore's office, but the password had been changed since that morning, and before she could get through listing every candy she knew, McGonagal would always arrive, looking more and more livid each time. Just now, the Transfiguration professor had nearly lost all patience with her.

"For Merlin's sake, Miss Granger, the Headmaster will alert you when he and Mister Malfoy are through!" she had shouted, steering Hermione away from corridor, "Now please go back to your room and stay there until you graduate!"

Of course, Hermione planned to try again in another ten minutes, and McGonagal knew it, so why protest?

When she got back to the common room, Hermione settled on the couch. She was so nervous she hadn't been able to study for N.E.W.T's all day, though it was nearly 9 o'clock. She hadn't even gone down to the Great Hall for dinner, knowing that she would probably just pick at her food anyway. Last night felt like eons ago. She was sure that she had aged at least fifty years since then simply from worrying.

Something small and fluffy flew right into the side of her head, and she toppled over from shock. Above her, a minute owl fluttered, the very same one that had delivered the news of Draco's condition so many months ago, with a small scrap of parchment clutched in its beak. On one side the parchment was stamped **URGENT** and on the other, two words were written in a thin, looping handwriting: _Come quickly._

Quickly was too weak a term. Hermione was outside the Headmaster's office before the tiny owl had landed. McGonagal was already waiting for her, looking flustered.

"You see, Miss Granger, I told you he would write," she said breathlessly, before shooing aside the gargoyle and pulling the younger girl on the upward revolving staircase with her, "Don't be nervous…I'm sure everything will turn out alright."

And, stupidly enough, for that one fraction of a second before they opened the door, Hermione believed her.

If only she knew.

**A/N:** Read, review, hazzah. I hope you all noted the references to other chapters that you've probably long forgotten (hint hint - Chapter 15 and 16, not to mention parts of 9 and 19.)

Chapter 28 to come very soon, but 'til then, much love.


	28. Broken

**A/N:** Hullu! Am I not back soon, just as I promised? I hoped to receive 500 reviews before posting this, but decided it would be unwise to make you wait any longer, considering I myself am on a limited schedule. Thanks to all that returned to this story after so long and hopefully you'll enjoy this new chapter, though it is short. So now, I present to you:

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 28: Broken**

Draco and Hermione walked back to the Head common room in silence.

"Did you bring my wand?" Draco asked suddenly.

Hermione snuck a glance at him, but quickly averted her eyes, "No, I'm sorry. I didn't think of it."

He sighed. Angrily. She kept her eyes on the ground.

Once they came to their room, Hermione opened her mouth to say the password, but Draco cut her off. "I can do it," he snapped. "_Signum_." The portrait swung open and the two went inside. They then proceeded over to the nearest couch, though only Hermione sat down.

"Draco, don't you want to - "

"I'm fine, thanks!" he growled.

"I don't think you are!" Hermione said, getting to her feet, "Look, I know you're upset, but you don't have to take it out on me. It's not my fault that - " she stopped speaking at once upon seeing the look on his face.

But the unsaid words hung in the air: _It's not my fault that it didn't work._

Draco kicked her in the side of the neck before jumping off her shoulder to the couch, although the fall only increased his bad temper. He was already extremely sore from having Dumbledore prodding at him all day…and for nothing…

"Look, Hermione, I just want to go to sleep." He muttered, "Please?"

She picked him up wordlessly and walked upstairs to their room. Draco took his time in the bathroom while Hermione slipped on a pair of pajamas and climbed into bed, lost in a cloud of thoughts.

She had not expected this. She had not expected this in the least. The whole day she had worried about what would happen when Draco was returned to normal, hardly even stopping to think that there was the possibility that it would not work. Now that she was faced with this exact problem, she wasn't sure what to feel. Draco did not seem to be taking it well at all. Had she been thinking properly, it may have occurred to her that he would be devastated, but of course she hadn't been, especially considering that the moment Dumbledore presented the boy to her, not a mite over three-inches tall, her heart had nearly exploded in happiness. Because he was there, he still needed her – he _was_ hers.

Then she saw how miserable he was, and her joy almost instantly became guilt, as though she had brought this on by wishing the spell wouldn't work. He seemed to be thinking along the same lines, though they both knew she couldn't have been the cause. And even though she knew he was hurt and angered by this change (or rather, lack of change), she couldn't excuse his new behavior toward her. Hermione had grown used to a Draco that was kind, caring…or at least not the bullying jerk he used to be, his constant teasing aside. The fact that he had reverted back to the slimy ferret she once hated turned some of her guilt into that old rival-like anger.

So here she was, happy, guilty, angry and just plain confused, still wondering why Draco had so much power over her emotions in the first place.

Presently, Draco walked out of the bathroom, fully-dressed and completely soaked. If possible, he looked even more irritated than before.

"What happened to you?" said Hermione, trying not to laugh.

"Your sink, that's what happened. I got sick of using my shrunken one so I climbed on top of the counter to use the normal-sized one and I nearly drowned." His tone so full of bitterness it knocked the laughter right out of her. "I'm going downstairs to wait until I dry off."

She made to walk over and pick him up, but he added, "Don't follow me!" So, Hermione sat back, and waited.

…..

He got about halfway to the door before simply flopping over on the ground from exhaustion. She was actually quite impressed. "Draco?" she asked sweetly.

"Alright, alright. Come get me."

She did, and together the two went downstairs, settling into their favorite couch by the fireplace. For a moment, Hermione felt so wonderfully calm, as though everything was normal, as though everything were right. She felt so comfortable she even began to act as if it were true, oblivious to the fuming (and sopping) boy in her lap.

"You wouldn't believe what happened today." The naïve Gryffindor began conversationally, "The whole scene was just proof of teen insanity. Somehow Ginny convinced me I had to go on this ridiculous 'quadruple date', so we all went into Hogsmeade and - "

"Hogsmeade?" Draco said. "You went to Hogsmeade _today_?"

Hermione stared. "I did. There was a visit…" She trailed off, realization slapping her in the face. All at once something became harshly clear to her, which was illustrated in a nice little equation:

Hogsmeade --> Happy Draco

Hermione + Hogsmeade – Draco --> Sad and/or Nonexistent Draco

Hermione --> Target for Angry Draco

"It was really boring." She said quickly, feeling a ramble coming on. "Almost painful. Except for when Ron got beat up by a girl and then had to be rescued by one. But you know him, it'll probably happen again next Tuesday. It was quite funny though, because I actually had no idea that Harry liked Ginny – although, in retrospect, his love for treacle tart alone may have been enough to make him fall for her – and it all happened so suddenly, I think even if I had been paying attention it would have been a surprise."

"You know," Draco said loudly, "I think this might be a hell of a lot more interesting if I cared."

She blinked. "What?"

"You heard me. I don't care about the trysts of your stupid Gryffindor buddies." He moved away from her, going to sit on the armrest, "So please, stuff it."

"Funny, I distinctly remember you being extremely interested in my past tales." Hermione shot back, "Or was that my other miniature prat?"

"Look, Granger," Draco was positively spitting with rage at the mention of his size, "It's bad enough that you FORCE me to listen to you all the time, so I really don't know where you get off insisting that I also CARE."

They both could tell that he wasn't only talking about stories anymore.

"You do care." Hermione said firmly, "Draco, I've been right beside you for the past five months, and I think I'd know - "

He sneered. "Oh, you think you'd know better than me? That's always your game, isn't it Granger, you always think you know better than anyone else." He laughed, but it was a cruel, biting laugh that she had not heard in a long time, "We may be years older, but you'll always be that childish Mudblood know-it-all, sidekick to Scarface and an ever-sickening goody-two-shoes - "

Draco stumbled backwards as Hermione's wand jabbed him sharply in the throat. Her breathing was heavy, her eyes aflame as they connected with his. "_Take. It. Back_." She said each word powerfully, distinctly, making it clear it was something she only planned to say once.

"Which part?" Draco smirked, coolly meeting her gaze, "Mudblood? Know-it-all? Goody-two-shoes? After all, I did portray you as accurately as possible."

She gripped her wand even tighter in efforts to contain herself. "Do it, Draco. Or else."

"Or else? Or else _what_?!" Draco stood, pushing the weapon out of his way. "You'll refuse to talk to me for an hour? You won't let me use my broom? Well, guess what Mudblood?" He had never been so angry, he had never hated anyone so much, "I couldn't care less! Because I don't need anybody, especially a loser like you!"

Her wand fell to her side.

"How the hell can you stand there and act like everything is all fine and dandy when I'm THREE INCHES TALL? You must think I _enjoy_ being like this or something. Don't you get it?! I'm** miserable**! I can't eat, sleep, or even go to the damn bathroom unless someone takes me, I had to give up Quidditch, I may not even graduate, and the worst part is I have to do it all with YOU."

Hermione's hand flew to her mouth, but he still heard her when she whimpered, "You don't mean that, you don't mean any of that…"

"I meant all of it." Draco told her, "I hate you, Granger. I always have, and I always will."

Draco watched Hermione slowly back of the room, and kept his eyes on the portrait hole as she took off running down the corridor.

He felt absolutely nothing.

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Hermione ran blindly down the hall, her view obstructed by the wave of tears she refused to let spill. She would not forget her promise, no matter if his words echoed in her head forevermore.

'_I hate you, Granger. I always have and I always will.'_

She felt something bouncing against her collarbone and realized it was her necklace. No. The necklace._ His_ necklace.

Something almost violently painful rose inside of her, and she took hold of the accursed token, tearing it away from her neck so fiercely the chain snapped, sending dozens of emerald and silver snakes clattering to the ground. Hermione panicked when she saw what she had done, and fell to her knees, quickly gathering up the carefully crafted jewels. The gold lion charm had been dented slightly, and the light that had always seemed to be shining behind the red ruby eye seemed to have gone out.

And Hermione knew. She finally knew. It was not because she hadn't been able to hex him, nor was it because she had run, or because she was unable to let go of his necklace.

It was because now, though she lay broken at his hand, she still wished he was there by her side. She still wanted to hear his voice as he teased her, feel him as he slept peacefully in her hair, see him smirk and laugh, smell his ridiculously strong soap, perhaps even taste the soft skin of his cheek again. To sense him would be like the breadth of life.

But though at last she understood, nothing could be done. So she loved him; it didn't constitute a happy ending. It merely meant that she had set herself up for heartbreak and was now suffering the consequences. Although she did not know how long it would take for these feelings to die – that is, if they ever did - she would not be made a fool of any longer. If he wanted her out of his life, she would rather step aside than be loathed for her every action. Hermione Granger was not one to let herself be mistreated, not even by someone who had once claimed he would gladly ruin his life for her. Not even by him.

Her mind made up, she then allowed her tears to shower the pieces of the broken necklace. The promise didn't matter any more. He would never know.

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"Miss Granger! To what do I owe this surprise visit?"

Dumbledore sounded amazingly cheerful considering he was speaking to a teenaged girl wearing a dressing robe, the dirt from the halls, and a mask of dried tears. McGonagal, who was seated at the desk, looked much more concerned than the Headmaster. "Yes, Miss Granger, is there something the matter?"

"Sort of," Hermione answered vaguely, not sure how to phrase her question. "I just was wondering…could I stop, um…is there anyway I can – no, no, that's not what I mean." She took a deep breath and spit it out.

"I don't want to take care of Draco any more."

For a moment the room was silent. Then, McGonagal said, "But I thought the two of you were getting along just fine! What _happened_?"

"Now, now, Professor," Dumbledore scolded, "It is not our place to ask about the personal matters between the two." He turned to Hermione, his light blue gaze penetrating her skull, "Unless, of course, there is something you would like to share with us."

She shook her head. The day she sought romantic help from teachers was certainly not today. "I just really can't do it. It's too…" Painful? Heart-wrenching? "…time-consuming. I have N.E.W.T.s to study for and job applications to fill out. I'm much to busy to help him with his as well." Hermione felt she deserved a sound slap in the face, knowing that she sounded selfish. But, maybe she was. Since when was it not selfish to run out on someone, to do what she was doing?

Dumbledore spoke gravely. "You understand, however, that if you no longer take care of Mr. Malfoy, you must step down as Head Girl?"

She glanced at McGonagal. The professor was staring at her prize student with an expression of disbelief, as though she never dreamed such a thing could happen. _'You and me both, professor.'_

Hermione nodded.

"Well, if you feel so strongly about it, I suppose I have no choice but to comply." The Headmaster said, "We will make the announcement tomorrow morning. Professor McGonagal," The older woman did not answer, her eyes still glued to Hermione, "You may fetch Miss Abbott so that we may tell her the news. I imagine she'll be quite surprised to hear that she has made Head Girl so late in the year.

"Miss Granger, if you pack up your things tonight, we can have some house-elves move them back into Gryffindor tower by morning. Again, though, I must ask: are you sure about this decision?"

Hermione nodded again. "Yes, Professor. Thank you, Professor." She showed herself out of the room, pushing the words of regret back down her throat. It was done.

Once the door closed, McGonagal rounded sharply on Dumbledore. "Albus, you must be out of your mind! How could you allow her to give up her position?"

He smiled brightly. "My dear Minerva, I did no such thing."

"She's gone to pack up her things!"

"Perhaps."

She threw her hands in the air. "Perhaps?! You instructed her to do so, just like you instructed me to go 'fetch Miss Abbott'. You said we're going to make an announcement in the morning!"

"I think we can hold off on those last two." Dumbledore said seriously, "After all, we must make allowances for miracles and/or proper timing."

McGonagal simply screamed.

**A/N:** I know, I know, some of the Hermione bits are terribly corny, but what is a poor lass like me to do when faced with a "OMG-I'm-in-love" scene? Now, I swear I won't post the next chapter (which is basically the final one, besides the epilouge) unless I get a load of reviews, so the power rests in your hands. Until next time!


	29. Be a Doll Again

**A/N:** Can I even begin to explain where I've been? If only I could. I hope people still care for this story. I love and missed you all dearly, if that helps.

**Be a Doll**

**Chapter 29: Be a Doll (Again)**

Ron came barreling through the portrait hole of the Gryffindor Common Room, searching desperately for a place to hide. It was well past curfew, but the red-head knew the common room couldn't be entirely deserted.

He dashed over to the chairs by the fireplace, where he and Harry often played chess. Sure enough, he could hear heavy breathing coming from Harry's favorite chair. His friend's disembodied feet dangling over the arm of the seat only confirmed his assumption. Thus, he wasted no time in whipping the invisibility cloak off of Harry and Ginny's entwined bodies.

Harry shrieked in fright, throwing Ginny to the floor as he scrambled under the nearest table for protection. "We were just talking, I swear!"

Ron's annoyed voice answered from behind a nearby couch. "Oh, who cares if you two were snogging, just help me!" the top half of his body suddenly reappeared, and he ran to a half-empty bookcase. "Yes, this is much better, she won't think to look here."

"Who?" asked Ginny, pulling herself up into an armchair. Harry joined her, though he still eyed Ron warily.

But the other boy was busy tucking himself into the last shelf of the bookcase. When he was done, he covered up completely with the cloak. "You know who I'm talking about." the empty shelf grumbled. "Know a certain tall, dark, and crazy?"

"Hermione?"

Ron uncovered his head. "Don't be thick, mate. It's - " he looked around cautiously before mouthing. "_Parvati_. Although, speaking of Hermione" He turned to his sister. "I did hear something strange that you might be able to explain."

Ginny frowned. "I can't say I've seen much of Hermione lately, but go ahead."

"Well, when _she_," his eye twitched, "was chasing me, we somehow wound up all the way by Dumbledore's office. I almost outran her, but then I heard the sliding staircase come down, and we panicked and both ducked into an empty classroom."

Harry smirked. "And? Did you two do anything in particular?"

Ron flushed crimson, mumbling, "I tried to keep her off of me…" his ears burned he continued, "Anyway, then we heard Dumbledore talking to people, I think it was Snape and McGonagal, and he was saying something about Hermione. Like 'I don't see what you're so upset about Minerva. Simply because I allowed Miss Granger to give up everything doesn't mean she's giving up everything. It is merely an option.'

And then Snape was all, 'Complete shame of giving up her position will do wonders for her overinflated ego, after all'."

"Giving up her position?" Harry asked sharply, "You mean she's stepping down as Head Girl?"

"What else could they be referring to? McGonagal seemed pretty mad. I think she did something to Snape after that because there were a bunch of really bright flashes and then I heard Dumbledore laughing as he told her it's not nice to take out your anger through transfiguration."

"Oh, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding Ron." Ginny scoffed, "Hermione wouldn't dream of doing such a thing. Besides, you were a little…_preoccupied_ at the time, weren't you?" she finished, giggling.

Ron looked lovely in red.

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She had been packing for a while now.

Draco sat on the coffee table, his body leaning towards the crackling fireplace. Though he could hear her moving behind him, he would not turn around, nor acknowledge her presence. When she had returned from Dumbledore's office (for certainly that is where she had gone), the girl said only two words.

"I'm leaving."

He was numb, unfeeling, disconnected in the worst way. He could not bring himself to face the reality of the situation, even as her possessions slowly began to disappear from their common room, even as the night grew darker and colder, even as it became evident that the next time she left, she would not come back.

Even as he cried.

It was odd. Draco had expected her to call him on his lie, the way she had so many times before. The hateful words had felt strange the moment he felt them on his mouth – did they not sound wrong to her ears? Never had to she taken his anger so seriously. In fact, he had almost come to depend on her to calm him when he got that way. But this time she had run away and suddenly it didn't seem like a good idea to go after her. If he could pain her that much on accident, he would not, could not, risk it anymore.

Draco had caused her enough grief to last a lifetime, after all, much more when they were friends than when they were enemies. She cared too much for her friends. Years of being with Potter had done that to her, making her a nervous wreck if the slightest of maladies fell upon one of her fellows. What happened with Draco seemed to go deeper than that, however. Though he had never risked himself to save the wizarding world, or gone with her through any rough time…she would ruin her life for him. She would hold herself back if it meant they could be together.

So he did not cry (and cry he continued to do, though he could not feel the hot tears as they dripped steadily from his eyes) because he loved her and she would not have him. He cried because he knew she loved him back.

There came the definitive sound of a school trunk being locked, and a dragging noise as she pulled the trunk towards the stairs. And then there was a series of loud bangs and crashes as the entire thing came tumbling down the stairs, spilling its carefully-packed contents as it went.

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Hermione nearly cursed out loud when she saw her trunk burst open and plunge to the foot of the stairs. But no – she would not give him the satisfaction hearing her angry and embarrassed. Never again.

So she bit her tongue and began to pick up her things, not bothering to organize it this time. She would just have to unpack it all once she was back in Gryffindor tower anyway.

That's when she saw it. It was among her bath things, in the bag with her hairpins. For a moment she wondered why she had taken it in the first place before remembering that it was hardly big enough to notice. Of course, since she had no use for it….

On impulse, Hermione picked up the object and strode over to the coffee table near the fire. She placed it on the table, and, seeing he had no intention of turning around, slid it over to him.

It was her comb – no, his comb. The small black plastic one she had given to him many months ago.

"I can't use it now. You keep it." she said simply, shrugging slightly. She waited for almost a minute for his response, but it did not come. She turned back to her packing.

"Thank you."

She stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

He cleared his throat. "I said 'Thank you'."

"Oh." Silence. "You're welcome - "

"No!" He sat up straight, his tone firm and pressing. "That's what I said to you. That day."

That day…it rushed back to her so quickly she was surprised it hadn't occurred to her before. He had been acting so strangely…she burst into his room using the bathroom door…brushed his hair for him, sneaking a glance at his ice blue eyes…then he thanked her and left…or so she thought.

"Malfoy," Hermione began slowly, "You - "

" – never cease to amaze me." He finished with her.

Her heart ached and swooned at the same time. What did he mean by bringing that up?

Draco picked up the little comb, running his fingers along the teeth. She wished he would turn around so she could see his face, but he leaned further away still while he spoke. "I meant it, you know."

It took all her willpower to answer calmly. "It doesn't matter, Malfoy."

"Draco." He corrected, "You've been calling me that for months."

She ignored him, forcing herself to go back to her packing. He stayed quiet, but she should have known he could only shut up for so long.

"What do you think you're doing, anyway?" he asked frankly, "Do you really think this is going to fix anything?"

"Nothing needs to be fixed. That would imply that something is broken."

Draco laughed at that. "Fine. Let's say something needed fixing and that's the reason you're going. What if I told you that I could fix it?" Behind him, Hermione froze. He ploughed on. "What if I told you that even though I was going to let you take the job to somebody else, I could do it? What if I - "

"Stop it! Just stop it!" she cried suddenly. "I'm _done_, Draco! I'm done wondering 'what if' and 'maybe'. I'm done going around in circles trying to figure out what you want from me. I'm done - "

"What if I wouldn't let you leave? What if I told you that you _couldn't _leave?!" he shouted. "What if I told you that I'm done, too?

"What if I told you I loved you?"

He turned and then he was looking at her and she was looking at him, and they both gasped slightly at the sight of the other's tear-stained face. Her gaze did not disconnect from his as she spoke, surprised at how clearly her voice suddenly sounded.

"I would tell you that you're a liar."

"What if I told you that I knew you loved me back?"

"I would tell you that you're a liar."

"What if I told you that I had been ready to let you walk right out that door? What if I told you that I couldn't because I had to make sure you knew?"

"I would tell you that you're a liar."

"What if I told you that as long as you were around, I wouldn't even care if I were _two_ inches tall?"

"I would tell you that you're a liar."

He took a deep breath, and she saw something strange flicker behind his eyes. "And what if I told you I was sorry?"

"I would tell you that…wait, what?"

"I'm sorry." Draco said, sounding very business-like now, "If I were to tell you that I was sorry."

Hermione quickly went through every encounter she had with Draco since they had entered Hogwarts, and not once could she find a time when he had shown sincere remorse, much less uttered the words 'I'm sorry' without obvious sarcasm. Yet he was saying it now. He was saying it – if only just to stop her from leaving.

"I would tell you that it doesn't matter." She answered in her previous monotone.

His face fell.

"Well," Hermione smiled widely, unable to contain herself, "This is all hypothetical, isn't it?"

Draco grinned as well. "Of course it is."

It would've been quite romantic if he hadn't been struck by lightning at the exact same moment.

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It could be said that it was a bolt from the blue, but in actuality it was purple. The streak of lightning did appear out of no where, however, hitting Draco right between the shoulder blades. Hermione gave a shriek of fright and lunged forward to shield him from another strike, only to find that her diminutive love was no longer there.

Then she saw him, hovering high in the air, surrounded by a faint violet glow. She could not see the expression on his face, but she knew something strange was going on. He seemed to be changing right before her very eyes, but in a way she could not comprehend…his body was contorting, yet perfectly still, his features becoming unrecognizable and yet more familiar…

He hit the ground with a thud, falling well across the room. Again, Hermione screamed and tripping over her own feet as she dashed over. "Draco! Draco, are you alright? What - "

She stopped.

Draco lay flat on the floor, massaging his neck. "Merlin, what the hell was that? And just when things were getting romantic…" He looked up and saw the expression on Hermione's face. "What's the matter with you? Did you change your mind or something?"

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. She shook her head to indicate that this was not the problem.

"Well, then what is it? Help me up, would you?" When she shook her head again he became annoyed, "Fine, I'll just stay down here - "

He stood up and realized why Hermione had been struck dumb.

Draco, of course, was skeptical. He took a step back and examined himself. He waved one hand, then the other. He skipped around in a circle. He kicked himself a couple of times.

He was finally convinced when he reached out and pulled Hermione into his arms. Because you can't do that when you're three inches tall.

When they realized what he had just done, both of their knees gave way and they landed in a heap on the floor, hugging each other violently as they began to sob once more. This only went on for a moment before they pulled away, holding the other at arm's length.

"It was you!" Hermione gasped, laughing, "'_Hermione, I'm back'_!"

"And you!" Draco said incredulously, "_'You never left'_!"

Hermione grinned slyly, "Well, if you don't mind, I'd rather we spare the corny lines."

"I couldn't agree more."

He kissed her and, at long last, everything was the way it was supposed to be.

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In a room not too far away, a tall figure leaned over a large cauldron, whose image was just disappearing.

"Interesting," he chuckled, "I would've settled for friendship. But this works just as well."

He turned to exit the room, but at that moment the door was thrown open.

"Professor Dumbledore, I will not stand for this a moment longer! Either explain to me what's going on or I will - "

Dumbledore took Professor McGonagal by the arm and led her down the spiral staircase. "Come now, Minerva, there's some business we have to attend to. I believe there might be six months of suppressed hormones being unleashed in the Head dormitory and I want to get there before things get out of hand."

"Suppressed hormones in the Head Dorms? What does that mean?"

The old headmaster merely smiled. "It just means that, at long last, everything is the way it's supposed to be."

**A/N:** I hope this was at least sorta kinda worth waiting for. Only the epilouge left. Please review!


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